The Red String of Fate
by Maresia Eterna
Summary: (ON HOLD) She did not understand what had happened. One minute she was staring at her students, and on the next she was locked inside a pantry…pressed against non-other than Sawada Shin himself. Shin x Kumiko. Ryu x OC.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **_Gokusen _belongs to **Morimoto Kozueko**. Maresia Eterna only owns her own Original Characters and the plot. Also, this is based on _Gokusen II_, but characters from _Gokusen I_ will be present in the story.

_**Title:**_ The Red String of Fate

**Rating:** T

**Genres:** Drama, Romance, Friendship, Family, Humour.

**Warnings:** Language

**Pairings: **Shin x Kumiko. Ryu x OC.

**Summary:** She did not understand what had happened. One minute she was staring at her students, and on the next she was locked inside a pantry…pressed against non-other than Sawada Shin himself.

**Authoress' Note:** I want to inform you this story will follow the plotline of the JDrama…to some extent, but it does not follow the manga. I also want to apologize for the errors you'll find; since **English** is my _**second**_ language, it's rather hard for me to correct all of the mistakes that I leave on every page before posting the new chapter.

* * *

**The Red String of Fate**

_Prologue_

_

* * *

_

__"Kya! Look! Look! It's Yabiku-kun!"

"And look! It's Takeda-chan! He's so cute especially since he's so short!"

"Yeah, and his height is more evident whenever he walks around with Tsuchiya-kun."

An earthquake of giggles erupted from the front of the classroom, and one pair of brown orbs looked up from an open book. Standing close to the first window of the classroom was a group of approximately six girls, all of them staring outside while two of them were pointing in a particular direction.

She was positive they were pointing at Kurogin Gakuen, which was located just across the street. They would always go to that window everyday, at same hour, just to observe a particular group of male students. Personally she found their behaviour confusing because even though they were behaving like crazy fan girls on that moment, every time they crossed ways with students from Kurogin they would pretty much run away.

Besides, she really did not know what her classmates saw in Kurogin students; she had always considered them as being a very troublesome bunch.

Ignoring her squealing classmates, the girl stared down at the book she was reading before she pushed her glasses up her nose. Silently, she rested her cheek on her right hand as she continued taking in all black words written on the pages.

Thankfully, no one had ever bothered to come to her, and ask what she thought of it. But then again, most of her classmates considered her a _gaijin_ or _gaikokujin_, a foreigner, and they really had no problem in calling her that.

"Ah, they're at it again." a voice commented all of a sudden, and the girl looked up again only to see one of her classmates putting her backpack on top of an empty desk. "I honestly don't know what they see in those guys. They're all punks, and most of them think they can always get whatever they want through fights."

Mizushima Maki was a petite girl with short auburn hair, but with a hell of a temper. Witty and intelligent, Maki had been the first to befriend her; they had become friends on the same day she had been introduced to the class, and she could not be more thankful for it.

"Well, I believe it's in times like these we can be ashamed of our own gender." the girl said as she reached out for a brown curl, and started playing with it, and Maki tsk'ed at that. "Did you do the English Literature project?"

"Oh yeah, that thing," Maki said as she sat down on her own chair, "Honestly, what's the point on having a whole semester to do one project about Shakespeare? I think one month would have been more than enough."

"Well, you know how some people can be when it comes to projects…" she said with a small smile, and Maki rolled her eyes, "But don't complain; this way you can just take your time."

"Well, I'm pretty sure _someone_ enjoyed the teacher's idea…" Maki teased as she stared at the brunette, who blushed faintly before looking away. "C'mon Mariko, confess it. You should know that nothing goes unnoticed by me."

"Ah, shut it." the girl said as she glared at her friend, but before Maki could even think of anything to say, the six girls that were still standing by the window squealed and shrieked. As a reaction, everyone turned to them, and saw how thrilled they looked.

"It's Odagiri-kun!"

The brunette, who moments ago would not have cared less about what her classmates said, looked at the group of girls once more. When the name had reached her ears, she had felt her heart skip a beat, but she managed to keep a straight face as she continued staring at her classmates.

"Ah, and he's wearing his uniform!"

"He's so cool…"

"And the fact he had the courage to abandon the guys he was with…aw, I want him to be my boyfriend!"

Looking away, Mariko stared down at the book she had been reading before she decided to close it. Maki silently observed her before she crossed her arms against her chest.

"You know, I still haven't quite understood why you always get like that whenever someone mentions that guy," she commented all of a sudden, "I may not care about gossip, but I did see him wandering around a bar one day. I heard he used to work there."

"Well, like you, I don't care about what people say." Mariko declared as she stared at her friend, "And regardless of what you may think, I know Odagiri-san is not a bad person."

"Then, do you mind explaining why you think like that?" Maki questioned as she turned fully to her friend while crossing both her arms and legs. "We still have a few minutes before sensei arrives, so…"

It was then that someone let out a scream, and everyone turned to their sides again only to see the six girls that were looking outside through the window widening their eyes in horror. Almost immediately, all students inside the classroom rushed to the windows.

"There's a fight at Kurogin!"

"Ah! It's between Odagiri-kun and Yabiku-kun!"

As soon as those words reached her ears, Mariko jumped out of the chair, and flew in direction of the closest window. With widened eyes, the girl watched as the said boys continued fighting while the rest of their class tried to separate them.

"See? They're a bunch of troublesome boys." Maki pointed out as she appeared next to Mariko, who glanced at her before she gazed at the boys again. "You should know better than to mix with people like them."

"Actually, I think it's a little late for that." Mariko confessed, and when her friend raised an eyebrow in suspicion, she shook her head, "But never mind about that now."

"You're a strange girl, did you know that?" Maki asked, and Mariko had been about to retort when a male voice echoed through the back of her mind.

_You're a weird girl._

"Yes, I knew that." Mariko eventually said with a small giggle, and Maki threw her arms in the air in exasperation.

* * *

_Two days later_

Odagiri Ryu carefully observed as Yamaguchi Kumiko wrote a formula on the blackboard. An open yet blank book was resting in the middle of his desk while a pen was resting in-between his index-finger and thumb. On his right were Yabuki Hayato and Tsuchiya Hikaru playing Uno while, on his left, were Takeda Keita and Hyuuga Kosuke talking about some random stuff.

It was needless to say that the rest of the classroom was not paying attention to their teacher either.

Uninterestedly, Ryu stared down at his book, and raised a hand to his lips when he felt like yawing. He really did not find classes all that interesting; he would rather be outside, staring at the city than to be there, not paying attention to his surroundings.

"Oi, oi, what do you guys think about going out on a _goukon_?" Takeda Keita asked all of a sudden, and Ryu glanced sideways at him at same time all of his other friends listened. "We could always try asking girls from Momogaoka Girls, and see if they'd like to meet us."

"Aw, now that would be good." Hyuuga Kosuke commented as he rested his cheek on his hand, a dreamy look on his face, "Most girls from that school are attractive, but…" he made a face, "I also know our class isn't really famous."

"Still, it wouldn't hurt to try." Keita pointed out, and while Kosuke sighed, Hikaru started fanning himself.

"Well, a _goukon_ sounds cool." he said before he pointed his fan, now closed, at Keita. "You take care of that, and let me know how things go, okay?"

"Sure thing," Keita responded before he gazed at Hayato, "Oi, Hayato, you're coming too right? What about you, Ryu?"

"I'll pass." Ryu answered almost immediately, and Hayato rolled his eyes at that.

"Of course you're not going. It's not as if you ever went to a _goukon_ with us before." he muttered, loud enough for his friends to hear, but Ryu did not even bother to say anything in return. "But I'll go."

"Okay, cool." Keita said with a nod, "Leave everything to me."

As soon as those words abandoned Keita's lips, the bell rang, and everyone started putting their belongings inside their bags. Before Kumiko could even excuse her class, all students started rising from their chairs, and walk away from the classroom.

"Troublesome boys…" Kumiko mumbled under her breath as she watched as Hayato abandoned the classroom only to be close followed by the rest of his group of friends. It had been two days ever since Hayato and Ryu had made up, and she was quite happy for them.

_I didn't do it for Take's sake. I thought his mom would cry if Take got expelled. _

_If anyone got expelled because of this and held a grudge against me, I'd feel bad. _

Shaking her head as memories of the last fight that had included Hayato and Ryu flooded her mind, Kumiko reached out for her books. They were really cool students, who cared for all of their comrades…even if they said otherwise.

"Okay, so I'll take care of our _goukon_!" Keita announced when they left the school's building, a wide smile on his face, "Tomorrow I'll tell you the details. Is this next weekend okay for all of you?"

"Yeah, sure," Hikaru answered with a light shrug, and Hayato nodded in reply.

"Just make sure they are cute." Kosuke added with a grin, and Keita laughed at that.

"I'll do my best!" he shouted before he ran away, and Kosuke turned to his friends, his grin growing wider.

"I can't wait for this _goukon_!" he confessed, "Aw, I can't wait to get myself a girlfriend. That would be so awesome!"

"Yeah, I agree!" Hikaru said as he pointed a finger at his friend, a wide smile on his face, "We really need some girls with us. I hope Take manages to find some really beautiful girls."

Hayato nodded at that, and Ryu let out an inaudible sigh as he rested his hands inside his pants pockets. It was in times such as that that he was ashamed of his own gender.

"Hey look! Momo Girls!" Kosuke exclaimed as he pointed at the all girl's school's building, and all of his friends looked in the same direction as a reaction. Surely enough, various girls were walking through the main gate, dressed in short red skirts. "Aw man…they all look so cute!"

"I can already picture us in a _goukon_ with them." Hayato whispered as he continued staring at the mass of girls.

Shaking his head, Ryu also gazed at the school's gate, but when he had been just about to look away, someone caught his attention. It was a Momo student, whose skirt reached her knees, while her long and curly hair almost reached her elbows.

Next to her, was another Momo girl, gesticulating as she spoke, but Ryu paid that girl no notice. Instead, he gazed at the curly haired girl, and noticed her facial expression; she was smiling on contrary of when he had first encountered her.

"So, what do you guys say if we go for some karaoke later tonight?" Hayato asked all of a sudden, and Ryu turned to him, "We could ask Take to come with us. And we could eat something afterwards, what do you say?"

"Oh, I'm in!" Kosuke eagerly exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm in the mood for some singing!" Hikaru also supported the idea as he started fanning himself, and it was then that the three boys turned to Ryu.

"Tomorrow's school day." was all Ryu said in response, and all of his friends lost their balance at that comment.

"C'mon Ryu, don't be such a goodie two shoes…" Hayato groaned, "Let's have some fun for a chance. Besides, it's not as if we go karaoke that often during school days…"

There was a moment of silence, during which Ryu was the target of his friends' puppy eyes. Even though he did not feel like voicing it out loud, he could not help but feel as if something was going to happen if they actually went singing.

"Fine, I'll go…" Ryu heard himself say, and he blinked when all of his friends started cheering.

Glancing to Momo Girls High School one last time, Ryu noticed that the girl he had spotted before was no longer there. But then again, it was not as if that mattered; they had encountered once, and it had been by pure chance. He truly doubted he would ever see her again.

What Odagiri Ryu did not know at the time was that he was truly wrong…

* * *

Ryu sighed when he found himself at Kumai's Ramen Shop, waiting for dinner to be served. He knew he should have paid attention to his instinct, but now it was too late for regret. They had already been at the police-station with their homeroom teacher, to take Hikaru and Kosuke away after both of them had been taken in for interrogatory.

Of course Ryu knew that his friends should had given the bike they had taken from Honda from Class A when the police had ordered them to do so, but he was also aware it was far too late to point that out. Instead, he silently waited for his dinner to be brought along with his friends and Kumiko's.

"Thank you so much for receiving us despite of the hour." Kumiko told her former student as she sat down on a chair, but Kumai simply smiled widely at her. "Are you sure it's okay for us to be here?"

"Ah, it's always a pleasure to have you here!" Kumai responded, his smile widening even more as he moved around, behind the counter. "And you're lucky too! I have another pair of hands ready to help me out."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Kumiko inquired, but as soon as that question abandoned her lips, a voice erupted from the back of the kitchen.

_"Kumai-san, you asked for six ramen, correct?"_

"Yes!" Kumai shouted back, and Kumiko tilted her head to the side in bewilderment. Everyone else just kept quiet, although they were obviously confused as well.

"Who's that?" Kumiko finally decided to ask, and Kumai walked around the counter, and approached the table his friends were occupying.

"You wouldn't believe even if I told you." he replied, and Kumiko frowned at that. Then, before someone could even come up with something to say, footsteps echoed from behind the counter.

"Kumai-san, here's the ramen…" the female voice trailed off when the newcomer finally managed to see who the customers were. Kumiko widened her eyes in surprise when she saw that it was a girl, while Ryu widened his eyes because of a completely different reason.

_You're hurt! Do you need help?_

"You…" Ryu whispered as he continued staring at the girl, silently taking in the way her dark hair clashed with her pale complexion. One pair of brown orbs gazed at him after he spoke, and he saw the girl widening her eyes in recognition.

"You…" she whispered back, but Kumai, ignoring the strange tension that was rising in the air, simply turned to Kumiko, his smile never abandoning his face.

"Yankumi, I don't know if you're going to believe this or not, but this is my new helper." he said, but Kumiko did not look away from the strange girl. "Kumiko, let me introduce you to Mariko; Sawada Mariko."

"Ah, Mariko-ch—" Kumiko stopped talking when her brain finally processed what Kumai had just said, and her eyes widened in disbelief as she continued staring at the girl, "What? Sawada?"

* * *

**To Be Continued…**

**Authoress Note:** Alright everyone. If you have read my two other _Gokusen_ stories (Stories of Ourselves and Follow Our Memories) then you will surely remember my Original Character. However, if you have no read those, and have doubts, please, let me know. On the meantime, I do hope everyone enjoys reading this story. It has been a long while since I have last written anything related to fanfiction. Thank you so much for your attention! I shall see you soon!


	2. The String of the Beginning

**Disclaimer: **_Gokusen _belongs to **Morimoto Kozueko**. Maresia Eterna only owns her own Original Characters and the plot. Also, this is based on _Gokusen II_, but characters from _Gokusen I_ will be present in the story.

I want to thank **Naoko Suki**, **3** and **KAT-TUN lover** for your support! I really hope you guys enjoy this new story. This new chapter is almost like a filler as it pretty much follows one of the episodes. However, I hope you guys enjoy it. See you soon!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_The String of the Beginning_

"Did you just say Sawada?"

Kumiko's words cut through the silence like a sharp knife. Her students, not really understanding what was going on, just watched as Kumiko stared wide-eyed at the girl that was now standing next to Kumai.

They really did not comprehend why their teacher looked so taken aback, albeit it was easy to see that the girl's surname had affected her greatly. The question that was left now was: why? Why did the girl's surname seem to have such an impact?

"Yes, I'm Sawada Mariko." the girl answered with a bow, her hands clasped in front of her legs, "And if I'm not mistaken you're Yamaguchi Kumiko, right?"

"A-Ah, yes, that's me!" Kumiko exclaimed as she hastened to stand up from her chair, "How did you know that? Was it Kuma who told you about me?"

"Kumai-san did tell me some things about you, but…" Mariko smiled faintly as she seemed to recall something or someone, "He was not the first one to do so."

"Was it… Was it Sawada?" Kumiko decided to ask, and Mariko nodded at that, her smile growing as she thought about the person the math teacher was referring too, "Is he…? Are you…?"

There was a short pause, and Ryu saw his friends exchanging confused glances. He too was befuddled about what was going on. They had never seen Kumiko looking so uneasy before, not even when they got into trouble.

"You're Sawada Mariko…" Kumiko repeated, and once again the girl nodded while Kumai looked rather amused by the whole situation, "Are you, by any chance, related to Sawada Shin?"

"Yes, I am."

Kumiko parted her lips to speak, but all words seemed to fade from her mind as she stared at the girl. She was Sawada Mariko, and she was related to her former student, Sawada Shin. Kumiko knew Shin had a sister, called Natsumi, so that could only mean one thing.

As she felt her heart hammering against her rib cage, Kumiko stared at Mariko in the eye. Aside from her height, there was no physical resemblance between Mariko and Shin. But they still had the same surname…both were Sawada…

"So…that means…" Kumiko started rather hesitantly, and everyone, not only Mariko, waited for her to finish her thoughts, "If you're Sawada Mariko, then that means…"

Oh dear, how on earth was she supposed to finish that sentence when her heart was beating so fast and loudly?

Swallowing dry, Kumiko closed her hands into tight fists, and glanced at Kumai. In her nervousness state, she failed to see the amused smile on her former student's face before she gazed at Mariko again.

"You're Sawada's wife?"

There was a long period of silence, during which Kumiko simply stared at Mariko while feeling her insides doing flip-flops. All of her students were now staring at the girl as well, waiting for her to say if Kumiko's pronouncement was correct.

What happened afterwards, however, was not expected…

…Kumai Teruo started laughing…

…And Sawada Mariko soon followed him.

"W-What?" Kumiko stuttered as she stared at the two young adults, Mariko's cheeks gaining a nice shade of pink while Kumai just continued laughing out loud. "Was it something I said?"

"Oh, Yamaguchi-san, Shin…" Mariko raised a hand in an attempt to stop herself from giggling, and Kumiko tilted her head to the side in confusion, "Shin isn't my husband, he's my cousin!"

"EH?"

Ryu had to stop himself from smirking when he saw Kumiko's eyes widening in bewilderment at the unexpected revelation.

"You…Sawada…What?" Kumiko almost shrieked as she rested a hand on her chest, and Mariko let out another faint laugh before she nodded.

"I apologize for misleading you, but Shin is my cousin." she repeated, "His father and mine are brothers, which is why we share the same surname."

"O-Oh…" Kumiko stuttered as she sat down on her seat, and then she let out the breath she had not realized she had been holding all that time, "I see. For a moment I thought Sawada had gotten married or something…"

"C'mon Yankumi, do you really think I wouldn't have told you if Shin had gotten married?" Kumai stepped in, the amused smile never vanishing from his face, and Kumiko turned to him. "I mean, I don't know about you, but I still talk to Shin every now and then."

"Oh…"

"Ah! The food!" Mariko exclaimed all of a sudden before she turned around, and grabbed one tray. Kumai silently followed her, and grabbed the second tray as well. "And before I forget; Yamaguchi-san, Shin asked me to send you his best."

"Eh? But I thought Sawada was still in Africa?"

"Oi, let's leave that aside for now." Kumai spoke as he put the warm bowls on the table, "Come on. Eat up!"

As soon as the invitation to eat reached their ears, all Kurogin students quieted down. Memories of why they were there filled their minds, and they quickly felt anger boiling inside of them as they recalled the police officer, Onijima.

"Extra meat is on the house!" Kumai announced as he stared at everyone who was sitting in front of him, and Kumiko smiled at him.

"Thanks, Kuma." she appreciated as she reached out for her own bowl of ramen, and Kumai laughed warmly at her thanks.

"Don't worry about it."

Silently, all the students reached out for the chopsticks in the centre of the table before they started eating. Kumiko, realizing why they were that quiet, glanced at each one of them before she took a deep breath.

For a moment, the fact that Sawada Shin's cousin was there, slipped from her mind.

"By the way, that cop…" started Kumiko, rather cautiously, "was absolutely ridiculous."

"Yankumi still hasn't changed." Kumai commented all of a sudden, his arms crossed against his chest, while a small smile was on his face. Kumiko, who was reaching out for her own chopsticks, nodded at that.

"Yeah… Even if he's a cop, there are things he shouldn't say." she declared before she shifted her body closer to the table, and stared at all of her students, "You guys don't mind him."

"We're not." Hayato answered before he took a long bite, and Kosuke sighed.

"It's always the same." he stated, looking a little nonchalant about the whole situation, "We're used to it."

"Since they suspect us, we feel that we might as well do something bad." Hikaru confessed, his hands resting on his lap, and both Kosuke and Takeda nodded at that. Kumiko, on the other hand, stared at them as if they were crazy.

"Don't say stupid things," she warned as she raised her chopsticks, and then she smiled faintly at them, "But it's all good since they let you go home safely."

Before someone could say a word, Hayato suddenly gazed at Kumiko before he looked down at his ramen bowl. Then, without bothering to explain his actions, he reached out for a piece of meat, and placed it inside Kumiko's own bowl, much for his teacher's surprise.

"Sorry for troubling you," Hayato mumbled as he stared down at his food, and Kumiko looked down at the meat he had placed on her bowl before staring at her student again.

"Was that to thank me?"

"Shut up…" Hayato managed to say with his mouth full, and almost as if he was trying to hide his embarrassment, he picked his bowl up, and turned his back to Kumiko. Before the math teacher could say anything in gratitude, all of the other students started placing a piece of their own meat inside her bowl, much for Kumiko's amazement.

After a long time just devouring their meal, everyone finally stood up from their seats, and marched in direction of the bar's door. Thanking Kumai for the delicious food, each one of the boys walked out of the front door, leaving only Kumiko and Ryu inside along with Kumai and Mariko.

"Thank you for the meal." Ryu thanked, his eyes going from Kumai to Mariko, who smiled at him before bowing.

"Have a good night," Mariko said in return, and Ryu nodded before walking out of the bar. Kumiko, after smiling and thanking for the meal, also followed her student in silence.

"See ya guys! Go straight home!" Kumiko advised as she watched her students walking away, mumbling about how stuffed they were.

"I wonder if they understood how you feel about them." Kumai observed as he appeared next to Kumiko, his eyes locked with the boys backs, and Kumiko smiled at that.

"It's alright." she answered, glancing sideways at him, "Even you understood before."

"That's because I was a bright student." Kumai replied as he crossed his arms against his chest, and both of them laughed at that. "And say, come back one of these days. Mariko-chan is going to work with me for a while, and I'm sure you'd like to hear about Shin."

"Oh, I will do that!" Kumiko exclaimed, "I'll make sure of that."

Unfortunately, due to some unexpected events Kumiko was forced to forget all about her conversation with Kumai as soon as she arrived at school, the next morning. Apparently, someone was trying to frame her students, especially Odagiri Ryu and Yabuki Hayato, and it was her job to fix everything before things got even worse.

"You guys really didn't do anything?"

"I told you we didn't." Ryu responded from his seat, and Kumiko looked down at him since she was standing in front of all of her class.

"We went straight home after eating ramen." Hayato added, looking a little irritated about the whole situation, and Kumiko let out a long breath.

"I see." she whispered before smiling diffidently at everyone, "I'm relieved to hear that."

"Where do you find an idiot that says his name after he beats people up?" Ryu inquired all of a sudden, but despite of his serious expression, everyone laughed at his question, Kumiko included.

"But that means…" Kumiko started as she raised her hands in the air, silently commanding her students to calm down, "Somebody is trying to frame you guys… Do you have someone in mind?"

"Could be the guys from Ara High…" Hikaru stated after thinking a little about it.

"Then maybe Goda from Jinguku." Kosuke declared.

"There's also Shibata from Ryujin High."

"No, could be Jounan Tech High."

"That many?" Kumiko asked, looking a little distressed about the whole thing, and Hikaru closed his hands into tight fists.

"Damn! There's too many to figure out who it is!"

After talking to her students, Kumiko retreated to go talk to the School Vice President, leaving her class alone to think about what they should do next.

"To use our names like that…" Hayato started as he frowned, "it's unforgivable."

"They were wearing our uniforms with the school's badge on them too, I heard." Takeda pointed out as he stared off into space, thoughts running at full speed through his mind.

"Shit, that makes me mad!" Hikaru confessed as he scratched the top of his head in rage, "Since it's come to this, why don't we find the culprits?"

Everyone stared at him at that, and Hikaru shook his head.

"We can't just do nothing, can we?" he asked, and Hayato took a deep breath before standing up from his seat. Then, as he rested his hands inside his pants pockets, he turned to his friends, the corner of his lips curling upwards into a smirk.

"Shall we do it?" he asked, and everyone immediately started cheering.

"We're gonna need food, aren't we?"

"Let's take some snacks, too!"

"I'm gonna take a sleeping bag!"

As soon as those comments reached his ears, Ryu, who had been sitting at the end of the classroom, watching his friends, blinked in perplexity. Their ideas were just so….mind-blowing…

"Aren't you guys going off track a bit?" he asked to no one in particular, but as expected everyone was too busy cheering to even hear him.

After classes, every member of 3-D class could be found scattered around through the city, carrying a paper where a drawing had been sketched. Five masked boys, dressed with the Kurogin uniform had been drew in the paper, but Ryu knew that such thing would not work.

And that was why, fifteen minutes after their search had begun, Ryu had decided to lean against the closest wall and just observe as his friends approached all the people that walked past them. He truly thought that was a waste of time, but he also knew his friends would not care about his opinion since they were too excited about the whole situation.

Leaning his head against the wall, Ryu rested his hands inside his pants pockets, and just watched as Hikaru and Kosuke spoke to three girls. By their uniform, it was easy to see that they belonged to Momo High. However, when Ryu was about to gaze at Keita and Hayato, someone caught his attention.

Emerging from behind the three girls that were half listening to what Hikaru and Kosuke were saying, were two other girls. One had short auburn hair, but the other…

Unconsciously, Ryu straightened his back, and watched as the two girls gazed to their sides as they walked past Hikaru and Kosuke. It was then that the auburn haired girl turned to her friend, and chuckled, while the other girl simply shook her head before gazing at the path ahead of her.

…And it was then that their eyes met.

_Do you want to go to the hospital? _

Smiling at him, Mariko turned to her friend, and mumbled something. Before Ryu knew it, the two girls were standing right in front of him.

"Good evening, Odagiri-san." Mariko greeted with a nod, but Ryu did not even bother to greet her back for being too flabbergasted with her actions. Usually girls preferred to stay away from 3-D Kurogin students. "Did something happen?"

"We're just looking for some guys." Ryu decided to answer, and Mariko blinked at that while her friend looked away. "Nothing you should worry about."

"Okay…" Mariko answered with a short nod, and it was then that the other girl looked down at her watch.

"Mariko, we really need to get going." she said, "If we don't start that English project soon, we'll never get it done on time."

"Ah, okay." Mariko answered before she turned to Ryu again, and smiled at him, "Good luck with your search, then."

Nodding, Ryu just watched as the two girls walked past him, quickly getting lost in the crowd. Before any sort of thought could cross his mind, though, Hayato appeared next to him along with Keita.

"Let's go somewhere else." Hayato said as Hikaru and Kosuke approached them as well, "This really isn't working."

"Let's go to that pachinko shop!" Kosuke said as he pointed at a shop located on the opposite side of the street, and everyone shrugged at that. "Maybe someone there will be able to tell us something."

Unfortunately, ten minutes after being inside the pachinko shop, the five guys walked through the front doors without any sort of good news.

"I guess that picture wasn't good enough…" Hayato finally admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck, and Hikaru started fanning himself as he turned to his friend.

"Because their faces are hidden." he concluded, and it was then that a female voice echoed from his other side.

"But you guys have the balls to step out of a pachinko parlour."

Everybody nodded at that only to realize seconds later that who had spoken was their math teacher, Yamaguchi Kumiko herself.

After debating with her teacher about what they should do (and also after hearing a lecture from Kumiko for being too restless), the five Kurogin students decided to go home for the day. Unfortunately, when they had been just about to return home, police officer Onijima made an appearance, and taunted them.

It surely looked as if he wanted to arrest them…

"Aw, we really ought to do something about what's going on…" Hayato commented as he and his friends made their way home, "That Onijima guy is starting to irritate me."

"Now that's true." Hikaru agreed, "I can't wait for us to find the real culprits, and throw that in his face. I bet that will feel like heaven to us!"

"Oh yeah!" Kosuke agreed, and everybody, except for Ryu, laughed at that. However, right when the mood was beginning to loosen up, various figures emerged from the park the boys were about to cross, making them stop walking.

"Yo!" a voice spoke up from the middle of the gang that had appeared in front of the Kurogin students, "It's been a while."

Tension immediately rose from the shadows when the five friends saw who had spoken. Walking towards them was a familiar face…a face all of them knew too well…

"Kudo-san…"

* * *

**To Be Continued…**


	3. The Fate from The Past

**Disclaimer: **_Gokusen _belongs to **Morimoto Kozueko**. Maresia Eterna only owns her own Original Characters and the plot.

* * *

I want to thank everybody for your support. I really hope you guys continue to enjoy this story. Oh, and thank you for your patience! Here's the new chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_The Fate from The Past_

"Urgh, I can't stand this project."

Mariko raised her orbs when the sudden complain cut through the silence of the school's library like a dagger. Staring at the girl who was sitting across from her, Mariko allowed for a smile to grace her features before she chuckled.

"Why, I thought you had said there was no point in having a whole semester to do a project about Shakespeare." she pointed out as she leaned against the back of the chair without taking the earphone that was blasting music into her left ear off.

Maki glared at her before she rested her forehead on the table.

"That was before the teacher told us we had to compare another book with one of Shakespeare's plays." the other girl groaned without raising her head, and Mariko shook her head at that. "I think I should just do a break. I'll probably go to the cafeteria."

"Well, I have to go to the bathroom, so why don't we go together?" Mariko asked as she took her earphone off before reaching out for her mp3, "We can take our bags, but the books can stay. This way we'll both take a break."

"Yeah, sounds good." Maki agreed as she stood up as well, and the girls quietly made their way through the hallways of the library. There were not many students there, mostly because it was still rather early, which provided even more peace and tranquillity.

"Shall we meet back here in ten?" Maki asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs that lead to the front door, and Maki nodded at that. "Okay. I'll see you in a few, then."

Smiling, Mariko turned her back to her friend, and was about to walk inside the bathroom when she spotted a sign by the door. Apparently that bathroom was being cleaned, which meant she had to go to another building.

Sighing, Mariko turned around on her heels, and walked out of the library's building before she unconsciously crossed her arms against her chest. Albeit it was still early, it was easy to perceive that the day was going to be lukewarm and moderate. The breeze was still a little chilly, but Mariko guessed it would eventually warm up as well.

The girl was just about to make her way towards the other building when something caught her attention. Since she was rather close to the High School's main entrance, it was easy for her to see Kurogin High…

…And rushing out of the all boys' high school were who she believed to be Kumiko's students.

Frowning, Mariko watched as the entire class split up in different directions. She could easily make out the group she had met at Kumai's restaurant mostly due to Tsuchiya Hikaru's height. And before Mariko knew what she was doing, she was walking past the gates of her own school, her eyes following Hikaru and the others.

Had it been just her imagination or she had not seen Odagiri Ryu or Yabuki Hayato with them?

Without even thinking about going back to the library, Mariko went after the students of Kurogin. If anything happened, she at least had her cell-phone with her so she could quickly text Maki a message.

Taking a deep breath, Mariko decided that it probably would not hurt to go after them. And besides, she had seen the boys wandering around, looking for something before. Perhaps something bad had happened?

"Oh, who cares?" Mariko mumbled to herself before she rushed after the boys, ignoring the way her mind was screaming that she should mind her own business.

Fifteen minutes later, as she was searching around for the boys from Kurogin, Mariko's cell-phone vibrating. It was with no surprise that she saw Maki's name blinking in the small screen.

_Where are you? _was the first thing Maki asked, in a rather aggravated tone.

"Maki, I'm sorry, but I had to take care of something!" Mariko apologized as she continued looking around, "This won't take too long. I'll meet you in the library in a few minutes, okay?"

Suddenly, a flash of yellow caught her attention, and Mariko immediately turned to her right.

"I have to go. Sorry!" Mariko rushed her apology before she put her cell-phone inside her bag. Then, without even bothering to take a deep breath in, she started running in Hikaru's direction. "Hey!"

"Eh? Mariko-chan?" Keita asked as he turned to her, a bewildered mask on his tired face, "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, well, I saw you guys rushing out of your school, and I was worried something could have happened." Mariko explained as quickly as she could as both Kosuke and Hikaru turned to her as well. "Do you need help?"

"Do you even know what we're looking for?" Kosuke asked before he could stop himself, and Mariko felt hot blood rushing up to her cheeks. "And why do you care, anyway? You hardly even know us!"

"Oi, this really isn't the time to start fighting." Keita protested as he turned to his friend, who simply shrugged.

"We're looking for some guys." Hikaru decided to speak up, and Mariko turned to him, "They are trying to frame Hayato and Ryu."

"Yabuki-san and Odagiri-san?" Mariko repeated, and Hikaru nodded, "What happened? Where are they?"

"Listen, we really don't have time to explain." Hikaru continued right when Kosuke had parted his lips to speak up, "What matters is that Hayato and Ryu are at the police station, and they will be framed if we don't find the real culprits."

"Well, I can try to help you…"

"There's no need." Kosuke promptly interrupted her, and Keita shook his head before he turned to the girl and smile kindly at her.

"Like Tsuchi said, this is a rather complicated matter, but don't worry; we can handle it," he started as he rested a hand on Mariko's elbow, "And I promise I'll let you know how things went as soon as Hayato and Ryu are back."

"Okay…" Mariko nodded before she turned to both Hikaru and Kosuke, "I'm sorry if I got in the way."

"Nah, that's all right," Hikaru replied as he waved a hand in front of his face, "But we really need to go now. We'll see you later."

"Bye!" exclaimed Keita as the three of them started running around, and Mariko smiled faintly at him as she watched them go. Instinctively, she clasped her hands in front of her chest, and sighed; she truly hoped things would end up well.

* * *

"We've heard about you guys finding the culprits." Onijima stated as he stood in front of Kumiko and all 3-D class, his hands inside his pants pockets. "Well, it was good work, if you want to call it that. But we would like ordinary citizens to stay out of our business."

All 3-D students blew up at that comment, and they would have approached Onijima, had School Vice President Sawatari Goro not stopped them.

"Stop it!" he requested as he positioned himself between the students and Onijima, who simply smirked at the young men in front of him. Then, the police officer turned around, and stared at both Hayato and Ryu.

"Stop doing things that would make you suspects." he advised, and when Hayato gave one step forward, looking rather menacing, Ryu stepped forward as well, and grabbed his friend by the arm.

"Aren't you forgetting something, detective?" Kumiko finally asked as she watched the police retreating back to the police station, and Onijima turned to her. When he let out an irritated 'what?', Kumiko walked past her students, and only stopped when she was one arm-length away from the tall man.

"Apologize to the two of them." Kumiko practically ordered, much for her students' surprise, and Goro widened his eyes at that before speaking up.

"Yamaguchi-sensei, what are you saying?

"Sensei…" Onijima started when all Kumiko did was to stare at him, "I still don't think that these two are completely innocent."

"Then, show me the proof." Kumiko requested when Onijima, once again, turned his back to her, and Onijima stopped his tracks once more. "You don't have any?"

"Yamaguchi," Ryu finally called out as he stared at his teacher, "it's okay. We're used to this kind of stuff."

"It's not okay!" Kumiko almost yelled as she gazed sideways at her students before she stared at Onijima's back again, "No matter whom it is, if they make a mistake, they should apologize. Isn't that how humans should act? I've been taught that ever since I was a child. And as a teacher, I've been teaching that to my students."

Pausing, Kumiko waited to see any sort of reaction coming from Onijima, but none came. Taking a deep breath, the math teacher decided to continue with her speech. She still had to show her point.

"These guys are still immature and can make many mistakes. That's why we have to show them between right and wrong. If adults don't follow the rules…" Kumiko instinctively closed her hands into fists, "Then how can we teach them the rules?"

"I commend your passion." Onijima finally responded as he twirled around, his eyes finding Kumiko's almost instantly. "But will these students really understand?"

"They will." Kumiko replied without even blinking, "I believe so. So, detective, please do the right thing in front of them. I beg you."

Finishing her speech, Kumiko did the only thing that felt right; she bowed in front of Onijima, much for her students' confusion and surprise.

For a few seconds Onijima did nothing, except looking around, but when everybody was beginning to think he was going to ignore Kumiko, the police officer started walking towards Hayato and Ryu.

"I'm sorry." Onijima apologized as he bowed, but before anyone could speak up, he raised his head, and superciliously made his way back to the police building. The students' cry of delight did not go unnoticed by anyone as they cheered about that victory.

"Yamaguchi-sensei," Goro spoke up as he appeared from behind the math teacher, but not before he glanced at the 3-D students as they surrounded both Hayato and Ryu. Kumiko, trying to control her radiant smile, turned to the Vice President, "Make them write apology letters, alright?"

With that said, Goro turned around, and walked away, leaving Kumiko alone to deal with her exuberant students…

…And it was with no surprise when everybody, minutes later, gathered around in Kumai's restaurant.

"Everyone, eat 'till you're full." Kumiko said as she stood next to Kumai, who was watching the whole class eating his ramen with pleasure. Behind the counter, was Mariko, who would occasionally glance at the famish students, also with a faint smile on her lips.

"One more!" Okuma Masashi yelled from his seat at same time he raised his empty bowl, and Kumiko widened her eyes at the request.

"What? One more?"

"Let them eat, Yankumi." Kumai responded as he gazed at his former teacher, and almost as if taking the cue, all students turned to their math teacher.

"One more, Yankumi!" all of them chorused, much for Kumiko's surprise.

"You guys just called me Yankumi!" she pointed out, and a wide smile graced her features at that. "Alright, eat as many bowls as you want!"

It was pointless to say the whole class started cheering after that.

"I guess that means I should go and give Mariko a hand at the kitchen." Kumai pointed out as he turned to Kumiko, who simply nodded at that. Then, as her former student made his way to Mariko's side, Kumiko leaned her arms against the counter.

"Say, Mariko-chan; how's Sawada?" Kumiko decided to blur out, and the girl glanced sideways at her before a smile graced her features.

"He's doing great." she responded as she handed Kumai an empty bowl, "He did an amazing job while in Africa. We kept writing letters to each other. I think I ended up missing him so much I decided to come to Japan."

"Eh? What do you mean; you decided to come to Japan?" Kumiko asked in confusion, and Mariko glanced at Kumai before she made her way towards Kumiko. Before she could speak up, however, Ryu and Hayato appeared from behind Kumiko, and placed their empty bowls on the counter.

"Ah, yes, you see, I used to live in Japan, but I went to Portugal with my parents when I was eight." Mariko elucidated, and Kumiko let out a 'ah' in understanding, "When Shin told me, through one of his letters, that I could use his apartment while he was out, I decided to give it a try."

"Your parents let you come to Japan?" Kumiko inquired as she tilted her head to the side, and Mariko parted her lips to answer when the teacher raised a hand. "Sorry, I'm being nosy."

"Which is your second nature," Ryu observed from next to her, and both Kumiko and Mariko gazed at him with Hayato chuckled at his friend's remark.

"Ah, not, it's okay." Mariko rushed to say, "It's just that…it's a little hard to explain…"

"Oi, Yankumi, I want more food!" Masashi practically whined, and the math teacher immediately spun around on her heels, ready to scold him for eating too much. Without their teacher next to them, Hayato watched as both Mariko and Ryu looked at each other before looking away.

Hmm, it looked as if something was going on…

"So," Hayato decided to speak up as he rested his elbow on the counter, and Mariko turned to him, "What do you say if you go out with us one of these days? It seems like this Sawada Shin you and Yankumi keep mentioning was someone quite important to her."

"Err…"

"You're being nosy." Ryu declared as he glanced sideways at Hayato, who simply grinned at him before he turned to Mariko again, and rested his chin on his hand.

"And then, perhaps, you'll be able to explain why on earth you guys are behaving like something really awkward happened between the two of you."

"Since when are you perceptive?" Ryu asked as he turned to his friend while Mariko looked away, but once again Hayato just grinned at him. "And mind your own business."

"Oh no, now I definitely want to know what happened between you two." Hayato declared before he gazed at Mariko again, and smiled at her, "What do you say if we go come pick you up tomorrow, at school?"

"I…I have to work after school…"

"Ah no, you can go with them; it's okay." Kumai said as he appeared from behind the girl, who jumped in surprise when he spoke up without any warning.

"Ah, but I—"

"Thanks, Kumai-san!" Hayato thanked, deliberately interrupting Mariko, who turned to glare at him, "And I apologize for this being so sudden."

"Don't worry. I understand why you're curious." Kumai replied as he grabbed a tray filled with steaming bowls, "And Mariko, make sure you don't leave any sort of details out."

**To Be Continued…**


	4. The Link in the Shadows

**Disclaimer: **_Gokusen _belongs to **Morimoto Kozueko**. Maresia Eterna only owns her own Original Characters and the plot.

* * *

Here it is The Red String of Fate latest chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_The Link in the Shadows_

When she had woken up that morning, she had felt as if that was going to be a very tiring day. She could not explain why she had felt that way, though; she had just woken up with a weird feeling. However, after her mornings classes ended, and she saw all of her female classmates rushing to the windows, screaming and shrieking, she had figured that her feeling had been correct all along.

"It's the guys from Kurogin…" Maki declared as she appeared next to her desk, and Mariko raised her head from her bag in confusion. "Apparently those guys are by the gates, scaring most of the girls away."

"Kurogin…?" Mariko repeated before she stood up from her seat, and followed Maki towards the closest window. Even though her classmates were making it a little hard to gaze at the gates, Mariko still managed to spot Tsuchiya Hikaru's head.

Her eyes widened at that.

"So, do you know what they are doing here?" Maki questioned as she crossed her arms against her chest, and Mariko turned to her with an eyebrow raised. "Oh c'mon, I'm not stupid. I have noticed the way you act whenever someone mentions the students from Kurogin. I figured you'd know what they're doing here."

"Well, sorry, I don't." Mariko retorted, but she froze as soon as those words escaped from her lips.

_What do you say if we go come pick you up tomorrow, at school?_

Oh no…

Widening her eyes in realization, Mariko stared through the window again, and her mouth dropped when she saw Hayato appearing next to Hikaru. Albeit they were drooling over every girl that actually managed to muster the courage to walk past them, she could not help but feel her heart hammering against her chest.

It was not possible…

They simply could not be there for her!

"Sawada Mariko!" a voice called out all of a sudden, and Mariko felt her heart skip a beat when her teacher's voice reached her ears. Looking behind her, the girl found herself staring at her homeroom teacher, Kujo Takuma. "I'd like to share a word with you."

"Want me to wait for you?" Maki asked as she stared at Mariko, who gazed at her before shaking her head, "You sure? You know I don't mind waiting…especially since those guys are just by the gates."

"No, it's okay." Mariko responded with a small smile, "I'm sure whatever Kujo-sensei has to say won't take that long."

"Okay, if you're sure…" Maki said with a shrug, and Mariko smiled one last time at her before following her teacher towards the staff room. Even though she knew she had done nothing wrong, Mariko could not help but feel downright nervous. What if her teacher wanted to talk to her about Hayato and the others?

No, that could not be. Besides, how could her teacher know of her link with the Kurogin students?

"Sawada-san," Takuma finally started after they got inside the staff room, and Mariko unconsciously clasped her hands together, in front of her legs. Her teacher, on the other hand, sat down on his seat before turning to her, "I'd like to ask you a favour."

Fifteen minutes later, Mariko was calmly walking through the front doors of her school, her mind lost in what her teacher had requested. Apparently, she was to tutor a junior High student on some subjects, including literature. Mariko had been quite hesitant about it, but when Takuma had told her it would be good for her, she ended up accepting.

Now all she had to do was to meet the girl…

"Not that we're complaining, but it took you long enough."

Mariko snapped from her thoughts at that comment, and she looked ahead only to see five Kurogin students standing by the gates. Immediately, she stopped walking, her eyes going from Odagiri Ryu to Yabuki Hayato, who was making his way towards her.

"Were you trying to see if we'd quit waiting for you?" he asked with his hands stuck inside his pants pockets, and Mariko shook her head. "Good, because there's no way we'd let you escape that easily."

Mariko seriously did not know what to say after that.

"Say, what if we go karaoke?" Hikaru asked all of a sudden as he started fanning himself, and Hayato turned to him before shaking his head.

"No, if we go there, then Mariko won't tell us anything because we'll be too focused singing to actually pay attention." he responded, and the said girl blinked at his words. "Why don't we go to the park?"

"Hmm, actually, I have to go meet a Junior High student…" Mariko started, and Hayato spun around on his heels, and stared at her directly in the eye. The girl could not help but bit her lower lip when she noticed his glare.

"That's a horrible excuse."

"A-Ah, it's not an excuse!" Mariko promptly retorted as she shook her head, "My homeroom teacher just asked me to tutor the girl. She's been trying really hard to enter in High School, and I couldn't exactly say no…"

Hayato simply raised an eyebrow in suspicion, and Ryu took the opportunity to step forward.

"Let's just go." he instructed, but when Hayato simply stared at him as if he was crazy, Ryu decided to continue. "I thought you guys were interested in doing something about the fact our school is going to be co-ed."

"Oh, that's true!" Kosuke exclaimed as he widened his eyes in realization, and Keita nodded.

"We have to do something about our kohai!" he said, looking determined about the subject, and Hayato gazed at his friends before he turned to Mariko again. Since she was not sure if she was supposed to say something, Mariko simply looked back at him.

"You're safe…" Hayato declared, his voice coming out above a whisper, and Mariko tilted her head slightly to the side at that, "For now…"

"Aw, I wonder what we should do about school…" Hikaru groaned still fanning himself, and everyone turned to him at that.

"Let's do something about tomorrow!" Kosuke decided as he pointed a finger in direction of his tallest friend, "All girls schools are coming to Kurogin tomorrow; we could do something about that. What do you guys say?"

As she watched the boys gathering in a small circle, Mariko could not help but sense that she had been completely forgotten. Then again it was not as if she could complain about it; she honestly did not feel that at easy talking about her cousin and Yamaguchi Kumiko.

Giving a small step backwards, Mariko was just about to walk away when she saw that Ryu was watching her. Ignoring the way her heart skipped a beat when their eyes met, Mariko managed to smile faintly at the boy, who simply continued gazing at her with a blank expression on his face.

_At least let me take care of your wounds!_

It was curious, but even though Kurogin High School was just across the street, Mariko had truly never expected to meet Odagiri Ryu again. Their first meeting had been an accident, after all.

Clasping her hands behind her back, Mariko bowed slightly in his direction, the smile still on her lips. Then, without bothering to say anything, the girl just turned around, and walked away, trying her best to ignore Ryu's eyes on her back.

* * *

He honestly had not pictured his night ending up at the staff's room of his school. When he had spontaneously helped Miyazaki Nao at the bookstore, and taken her to an arcade, he had never really thought he would end up meeting his former teacher, Ishikawa.

But then again, when his former teacher had started yelling at Nao, he had been unable to control himself, and such had ended up with him punching the older man.

"Tsuchiya!" Kumiko called out as she rushed inside the staff's room only to see her student standing still in the middle of the room, surrounded by all the other teachers. Taking a deep breath, Kumiko stared at the Vice President Sawatari Goro. "What happened?"

"Tsuchiya was forcing this girl to follow him around!" Ishikawa immediately explained, and it was then that Kumiko spotted the Junior High student sitting in one of the chairs, "And to the game arcade, to top it off. I yelled at her out of sheer anger."

Silently, Kumiko gazed at her student, but Hikaru still refused to meet her eyes. Ishikawa, on the other hand, continued with his rant.

"When you think about it, she's not the type of girl who would skip cram school and play around. She wasn't able to go against Tsuchiya!" without bothering to let Hikaru speak up, Ishikawa turned to the silent girl, who looked down, "Isn't that right, Miyazaki?"

There was a long silence, during which Hikaru expected to hear Nao say that Ishikawa was correct.

"Answer me!" Ishikawa demanded, and Hikaru gazed to his side only to see Nao nervously raising her head to look at him. Without saying a word, Hikaru nodded faintly, and the girl looked down. Moments later, she nodded in response to her teacher's accusation.

"I'm really sorry about this." Goro stepped in as he bowed, and Kumiko turned to her student, looking quite distraught with everything that was going on.

"Tsuchiya is this all true?" she asked, and Hikaru raised his head high before letting out a nonchalant 'yeah'. Ishikawa, not wanting to waste a second, stared at his former student.

"Tsuchiya, never come near her!"

Taking a deep breath, Hikaru rested his hands inside his pants pockets before he gazed sideways at Ishikawa. _Okay_ was all he said in response to his former teacher's command.

"Sawatari," Ishikawa continued as he turned to the Vice Principal, "I'm counting on you to punish him severely."

"I'm really sorry about all this." was all Goro said in response.

Moments after Ishikawa and Nao abandoned the staff's room; Hikaru was not surprised when he was informed that he was suspended. And curiously enough, he was not bothered at all about it, and that was probably why he got annoyed when Kumiko came after him.

"Tsuchiya, there must have been a reason behind this. You're not the kind of guy who would force a girl to hang out with you."

"I am that kind of guy." Hikaru corrected her, still without gazing at his homeroom teacher, and Kumiko grabbed his arm before stepping in front of him.

"Tsuchiya, what happened? Will you tell me?"

"I have nothing to talk about with a teacher." Hikaru said before he could stop himself, but Kumiko did not look affected by his words.

"You might get expelled!" she tried to reason, and Hikaru looked away at that.

"I don't really care." he confessed before gazing at Kumiko, overlooking the expression on her face. "I'll quit this school…anytime I want. To hell with school and teachers!"

Without giving Kumiko any time to say anything, Hikaru brushed past her, and walked away.

What Tsuchiya Hikaru did not know at the time was how worried his friends would be after hearing the news about his suspension…

…And neither did he know that both Hayato and Ryu would soon inform Kumiko that they had seen him and Nao having fun at the game arcade the night before, which would eventually force his math teacher to act.

* * *

"_Please, let me see your daughter. There's not much time. Please, I beg you. Please…"_

"_Please, stop this already."_

It was from behind the pink curtain that Mariko watched as Yamaguchi Kumiko begged Miyazaki Nao's mother to let her speak with her daughter. The first time she had seen Kumiko there, pleading for Nao to appear, she had not understood what was going on. In fact, it had taken her quite some time to make Nao believe that she would not tell a soul about whatever could be going on.

And even though she still did not know the whole story (all Mariko knew was that it involved Tsuchiya Hikaru, and the fact the boy could soon be expelled), Mariko still felt that something was bothering Nao deeply.

"Nao-chan, this is the sixth time Yamaguchi-sensei has come to your house." Mariko pointed out as she let go off the curtain, and the younger girl stopped scribbling in her notepad. "Don't you think you should go talk to her?"

Nao simply waited a few seconds before she continued doing her homework.

Sighing, Mariko gazed one last time at the window before she turned to her side. Silently, she made her way to the girl's side, and sat down next to her in formal style. Then, she raised a hand, and rested her fingers against Nao's on hand, causing the girl to stop writing.

"Nao-chan," Mariko tried out again, "I know you have been listening to Yamaguchi-sensei's pleads all this time. I may not know everything, but I have also heard what Yamaguchi-sensei has said, and if Tsuchiya-kun is facing the possibility of being expelled when you know something that can stop it from happening…don't you think you should do something?"

Once again, Nao refused to gaze at her, and Mariko bit her lower lip before squeezing the girl's hand.

"I mean, it's his future that's at stake." she decided to continue, "He will be expelled, and perhaps he'll never return to school again. Do you really think he deserves that? I mean, do you think anyone deserves that?"

Hesitantly, almost fearfully, Nao finally looked away from her school books, and gazed at Mariko. Smiling reassuringly at the girl, Mariko squeezed her hand again.

"I'm not telling you what to do." she pointed out, and Nao dropped her gaze, "But you are a smart girl. You, above everyone else, know what happened thus making you the only one capable of helping Tsuchiya-kun."

Nao bit her lower lip in nervousness, and Mariko vaguely felt the girl squeezing her hand in return. Then, she smiled.

"I think it's better for us to stop for now," she announced, and Nao raised her head in surprise, "You're not paying attention to the exercises, and I know you're worried about Tsuchiya-kun as well. That's why I think we should stop for today."

"But…"

"Nao-chan," Mariko softly interrupted the younger girl, the corner of her lips still curled upwards. "It's okay. You've been working really hard lately, and you deserve this break. Just make sure you enjoy it well."

Quietly, Mariko stood up, but when she had been about to pick her school bag up, she gazed at Nao again. It was with no surprise that she saw the younger girl gazing at her books again.

"One last thing," she started, and Nao timidly gazed at her, "My cousin tends to give me a lot of advises, and there's one that I think you'll enjoy."

When Nao said nothing, Mariko decided to continue.

"The difference between a moral man and a man of honour is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught."

When the girl still refused to speak, Mariko grabbed her school bag, and made her way towards the closed door of the bedroom. Her fingers had been just about to rest on the doorknob when Nao's voice echoed from behind her.

"Please, help me…"

Looking over her shoulder, Mariko saw the girl's pleading look before she turned around. Then, as she rested her school's bag strap on her shoulder, Mariko made her way towards Nao before she raised a hand.

"Let's do this."

The trip from Nao's house to Kurogin High appeared to be quite long, especially since the two of them could do nothing except run towards the all boys' school. However, the truth was that as soon as the two girls rushed inside Kurogin's main entrance, and ran as fast as they could through the corridors, Mariko had never expected to see what she saw…

…All members of 3-D class rushing inside a room.

"_What are you guys doing here?"_ Mariko heard someone yell from the room, and she glanced at Nao only to see that the girl was confused as well.

"_Sorry, we couldn't just sit around."_ Hayato's voice followed the man's, and Mariko looked ahead before she bit her lower lip. Then, after gazing at Nao again, she silently started walking towards the open doors.

Mariko had been about to pat one of the boy's on the shoulder, when she felt Nao squeeze her arm. Turning to her side, she saw Nao's facial expression, and simply nodded in silent understanding before she stepped aside.

Taking a deep breath in, Nao turned to the back of the 3-D boys, and clasped her hands together.

"Excuse me…" she said in her small voice, and even though all the boys were puzzled by her presence, they all stepped aside, and allowed Nao to reveal herself to the teachers.

"Miyazaki." Ishikawa breathed out, his eyes widened in surprise, and Nao looked away for a moment.

"I'm sorry!" she decided to say, still looking a little uneasy, and she quickly bowed towards the teachers. "Tsuchiya-san didn't do anything wrong. It's my fault!"

"Don't worry about it." Hikaru decided to say, but Nao simply continued with her speech while twiddling her thumbs in agitation.

"I…" Nao took a deep breath before she licked her lips, "I tried to shoplift. I don't want to study anymore. I don't care about exams. While I was thinking all this…If Tsuchiya-san hadn't stopped me, I would've done it."

"Tsuchiya stopped you?" Goro asked, a look of disbelief written all over his face, and Ishikawa promptly stood up from his chair, his angry eyes locked with Nao's petite form.

"Why are you lying?"

"I'm not lying!" Nao exclaimed back, suddenly looking unafraid despite of her teacher's angry expression. At her words, Ishikawa pointed a finger at Hikaru, his eyes never leaving Nao's.

"Did Tsuchiya tell you to do this?"

"You still don't get it?" Kumiko asked all of a sudden, and Ishikawa immediately turned to her. "How hard it must've been for her to tell the truth? You don't understand at all? How about looking at your students more closely? How about listening to them carefully?"

Ten long minutes later, during which Kumiko and Ishikawa did nothing but demonstrate their extremely different points of view, Kurokawa Ginji, Chairman of Kurogin High School finally decided to speak up…

…And, at the end, Tsuchiya Hikaru was forgiven.

"Alright!" all 3-D students started cheering and throwing their fists in the air, and Mariko stared surprised at them. However, before she could even move an inch or think of something to say, Ishikawa walked past her, not noticing her presence at all.

"_I might take the entrance exam at Kurogin."_ Mariko heard Nao say from where she stood, and she felt the corner of her lips curling upwards at that, _"It'd be fun having such a good teacher and such good seniors."_

"_Yes, come!"_ Mariko heard Kosuke exclaim, and she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at his response. It was then that her cell-phone started ringing, and Mariko took it from inside her school bag. Quickly gazing at the screen, she felt a wave of happiness burst from inside of her when she saw who the caller was.

Without thinking twice, Mariko pressed the cell-phone against her ear, a wide smile now gracing her features.

"Hello? Shin?"

**To Be Continued…**

**

* * *

**

**Q: **So, is it going to take long for Shin to appear?

**A: **Well, I must admit it will take a few chapters for that to happen, but you will be hearing from him until then. I hope you are patient enough, and that it is worth to wait.


	5. The Syrupiness of Affection

**Disclaimer: **_Gokusen _belongs to **Morimoto Kozueko**. Maresia Eterna only owns her own Original Characters and the plot.

* * *

Hello everyone! I am back with a new chapter! I really enjoyed writing this, so I hope you guys have fun reading it as well. Thank you so much for your constant support!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_The Syrupiness of Affection_

In Japan, Valentine's Day is observed by females who present chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to a male, as an expression of love. The handmade chocolate is usually preferred by the receiver, because it is a sign that the receiving male is the girl's "only one".

* * *

_Love_…he had never really grasped the real meaning behind that word. When looking at a dictionary he would see that _love_, as a verb, meant to have a great affection or liking for something/someone and to be enamoured or in love with someone.

When asking someone about it (not that he had, but he had heard his friends talking about it), almost everyone would define _love_ as passionate caring love, and a fundamental desire. But for him, _love_ appeared to be nothing else but a sack full of disillusionments and headaches.

And that was why he could not help but keep his back turned to all of his friends and classmates as they sang "chocolate, chocolate, we want chocolate" over and over again as they waited for Kumiko to appear.

"You guys want chocolate that much?" Kumiko's voice was finally heard from behind, and she calmly made her way through her students, noticing the way they were staring at her.

"What we like are girls, without a doubt." Hikaru responded from his spot, and everyone nodded in agreement at that.

"It's almost the 14th." Keita elucidated, and Kumiko nodded at that.

"Ah, Valentine's day."

"This year, I'll get chocolates no matter what." Kosuke announced, and some of his classmates followed his example.

"I want memories of high school!"

"I definitely want to get some."

"It doesn't matter if it's out of obligation or compassion…I just want some!"

"Alright, let's do our best to get those chocolates!" Hikaru announced as he stood up from the desk he had been occupying, and everyone cheered at that, causing Kumiko to smile. Ryu, on the other hand, did not even bother to look over his shoulder.

"You guys really are simple-minded. Getting carried away with kiddy games like Valentine's Day…"

As soon as those words abandoned the woman's lips, she was surrounded by her now exasperated students. Shaking his head lightly at the commotion that was taking place behind him, Ryu finally decided it was time to mess up a little with his math teacher.

"Do you have someone to give chocolates to?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course, there's no one." Hayato promptly retorted, almost as if he had known what Ryu was going to ask.

"I have one or two potential lovers." Kumiko tried to defend herself when all of her students chuckled at Hayato's comment, and Hikaru opened his fan.

"I see. You can't even participate in this battle for love."

"Battle?" Kumiko repeated as she glanced sideways at Hikaru, but it was Kosuke who continued.

"This is a serious event for men and women. Every year, we're all counting on this day."

As soon as those words escaped from Kosuke's lips, Kumiko entered in her 'drama mode', causing everyone to silently watch as she threw herself at an empty desk.

"What have I done?" she asked to herself, "All this time, I've been stepping away from this important battle. All of my unrequited loves…I've been losing without even fighting!"

"What are you talking about?" Hayato decided to ask, but Kumiko ignored his question as she continued with her rank.

"Alright, all of you…" Kumiko shouted before she placed her feet on top of a chair, and threw a fist in the air, "We will definitely win!"

"What?" was all 3-D boys uttered altogether, and Kumiko looked at them over her shoulder.

"Not 'what?', come on, you guys all together." she urged before she turned her back to them again, and threw her fist in the air one more time, "Fight oh!"

"Idiots…" was all Ryu muttered to himself as everyone started cheering, along with their teacher. He really needed to find normal people to hang out with.

But then again, that was probably why Ryu found himself stopping by Kurogin's front gates, after classes, his eyes locked with the school across the street. Girls were already walking away from Momo High, most of them chatting and laughing as they went. Ryu honestly did not know why he stood there all that time, but when he spotted Mariko walking through the gates, he guessed it would not be bad if he approached her.

Unfortunately, since she had her eyes focused on the book she was reading, Mariko did not even notice him walking towards her.

"Oi."

Looking up from her book, Mariko blinked when she saw Ryu standing a few meters away from her, holding his school bag over his shoulder. For a moment she just stared at him, ignoring the way some girls from her high school glanced their way as they walked by.

"A-Ah, hello!" Mariko finally managed to stutter as she lowered her book, and Ryu looked away at her behaviour. "Sorry, I…I didn't notice you were there…"

Glancing sideways at her, Ryu silently took in the way the girl was holding the book with her right hand before he looked away again. He really had no idea about how he was supposed to talk to a girl; they usually were far too afraid of Kurogin students to even share a quick glance.

"Thank you," Ryu finally decided to say, still without meeting the girl's gaze, but he knew she was now looking puzzled, "For helping Tsuchiya… That girl eventually told us that you gave her the push she needed."

"Actually, I didn't do anything." Mariko corrected him as she crossed her arms against her chest, "Nao-chan decided to go to your school on her own. I only accompanied her so…"

Ryu only nodded in understanding before memories of a past not so distant started flooding his mind.

_I…would like to quit. Please._

_You want to slip away from us?_

_I'm sorry._

_Ryu-chan, do you know what that means? You don't think we'll just let you go, do you?_

Closing his eyes for a second, Ryu tried to ignore what had happened when he had decided to quit the club where he had been working before Kumiko had appeared for the first time in his life.

Instead, he focused his mind on what had happened after he was beaten up, and saved by Kumiko… He focused his attention on the first time his path had come across Sawada Mariko's…

_You're hurt! Do you need help?_

_Do you want to go to the hospital? _

_At least let me take care of your wounds!_

"I've been planning to ask you; are you better now?" Mariko asked all of a sudden, and Ryu snapped from his thoughts, and turned to her. "I mean…it has been a while, but…you really looked like you were in a lot of pain that night…"

"I'm fully healed." Ryu replied as he turned to her, and Mariko nodded slowly in understanding before looking away. "And I never said it, but…thanks."

"I did what anyone would do."

Ryu was half tempted to say that she was not corrected, but decided to let it slip. Instead, he gazed at Kurogin's gate, and blinked when he saw his friends at the distance. Gazing at Mariko again, he bit the interior of his cheek before he looked down.

"I have to go now."

"Yeah, me too…" Mariko responded with a small smile, and Ryu looked at her again. "I guess we'll see each other around?"

Ryu could not stop the following words from escaping his lips.

"You really are a weird girl."

* * *

"Gaijin…"

"Ugly…"

"Disgusting…"

Turning the page, Mariko reached out for her chopsticks, and started nibbling on a piece of broccoli. She could feel some eyes gazing her eye, but most of the time she managed to ignore it all; besides, it was lunchtime, and she truly wanted to enjoy her meal.

"Hey, Mariko." a voice called out, and the said girl looked up from her book, not even blinking when she saw Maki on the other side of the table, carrying her bento. "I need to ask you a favour."

"Okay…" Mariko answered as she put her chopsticks down before she closed her book, "What happened?"

"Listen, I have no idea if you're close to those guys from Kurogin, but…" Maki paused as she sat down on the vacant chair located across from Mariko's, "You really need to tell them to back off."

"Did they do something wrong?" Mariko decided to ask as she stared confusedly at her friend, who leaned against the back of her chair before crossing her arms.

"Yeah, they harassed me." Maki replied, and Mariko stared at her wide-eyed. "That smallest one…accordingly to his friends, he has a thing for me, and wanted to talk to me. Instead, he followed me around and actually tried to hurt Okudera-san. I went to Kurogin High School right before coming here."

Okudera, a student from Sokei University; Mariko had heard about him from Maki. Apparently, he was also in the boxing team.

"Wait, did you just say you went to Kurogin?" Mariko asked as she started incredulously at her friend, who simply nodded in reply, "Why?"

"Why do you think I went there? I had to talk to the idiot face to face!" Maki responded, irritation clear in her voice, "And believe it or not he did not have the guts to talk to me. Not even when I slapped him! His friends did all the talking!"

Thoughts started running through Mariko's head after that information. Maki had said that it had been the smallest guy that had been following her around, which meant that it had to be Takeda Keita. But how could that be? Even though she did not have that much contact with the boys, she knew that Keita was probably the most sensitive one.

"I'm sure there's an explanation…" Mariko tried to say, and Maki snorted at that before she shifted closer to the table.

"Yeah right; those guys have absolutely no brains." she retorted, "And I cannot believe you are trying to defend him. He followed me around, Mariko! He tried to hurt Okudera-san!"

Mariko looked down at those words. She honestly could not believe that Keita would go as far as to harass Maki… For some reason, that just did not seem possible.

"So you better tell him to stay the hell away from me." Maki continued, and Mariko gazed at her again. A moment of silence followed Maki's warning, but when Mariko was about to part her lips to speak, her friend continued, "And do yourself a favour; after you tell him that, stay away from Kurogin as well."

After school, and even though she was not entirely sure about what she should do, Mariko found herself wandering around through the city. Maki's words had been resonating in her mind all day, making it necessary for Mariko to find the five students from Kurogin.

She really needed for someone to explain what had happened to her. Although she did not doubt Maki's version, the fact her friend had declared that Keita had been the one to stalk her just did not make sense. It was almost as if something was missing in the whole story…

"Take!" Mariko heard someone yell, and the girl looked to her right only to stop her tracks when she spotted who had cried out. Standing not too far from her, looking right and left, were Tsuchiya Hikaru and Hyuuga Kosuke.

Closing her hands into fists, Mariko took a deep breath, and started running towards the boys.

"Hey!" Mariko called out when the two boys suddenly turned their backs to her, "Tsuchiya-kun! Hyuuga-kun!"

"Who…?" Kosuke looked over his shoulder, and widened his eyes when he saw who had called for him, "Mariko-chan!"

"What?" was all Hikaru blurted out before he also turned around on his heels, "Ah! It's you!"

"Is there something wrong?" Mariko asked, not really sure of how she was supposed to start the conversation, and both Hikaru and Kosuke shared a look.

"I'm sorry, but we're kind of busy right now." Kosuke apologized as he stared at her, "We're looking for Take right now."

"Is it because of Maki?" Mariko decided to question right when the boys were getting ready to walk away. They did not answer her, but the fact they had both stopped moving, was enough for Mariko to understand that she was correct. "Did something happen to Takeda-kun?"

Once again, both boys shared a glance, but this time it was Hikaru who spoke.

"Come with us."

Nodding, Mariko started to follow the two boys, who silently took her to where both Hayato and Ryu were. They all looked extremely worried about their friend and Mariko silently took in how close they all were to each others.

"I really have no idea where he may be." Hayato confessed as he looked at the distance, but no one said a word.

"I'm really sorry, but can someone tell me what really happened?" Mariko asked after a long silence, and everyone turned to her. "I know this is none of my business, but Maki told me that she went to your school, and she…she asked me to tell Takeda-kun to stay away from her. She told me he was following her around."

"That's not entirely true." Hayato replied almost immediately, looking slightly angered, "She doesn't even know the whole story!"

"Which is why I don't want to tell Takeda-kun what she asked me to!" Mariko protested, "That's why I am asking you to tell me the whole story. Please! I know Takeda-kun would never stalk someone!"

"How can you be so sure?" Ryu asked all of a sudden, a blank expression on his face, and Mariko turned to him, "We're Kurogin students, after all."

"So what? Should that automatically label you as psychotic people or something?" Mariko asked back, catching all the boys completely off guard. "Why on earth do you all seem to have this complex about your school? That makes you sound like children!"

"Oi, oi…"

"Just tell me!" Mariko almost begged as she continued staring at Ryu, "Please."

"Fine, we'll tell you what happened." Hikaru declared, and the girl turned to him. "Let's just go somewhere else."

Ten minutes later, everyone could be found at the garden, some of them sitting on a wooden bench while others were standing. Mariko was sitting right in the middle of Hayato and Kosuke while Hikaru was standing next to them. Ryu had found shelter under a tree, and was currently leaning against it.

"Okay, where to begin…" Kosuke mumbled to himself as he scratched the back of his head, and Hikaru opened his fan before he looked away.

"Let me tell her," he asked, and Kosuke glanced at him before nodding. Hikaru, after taking a deep breath, gazed at Mariko, and started telling her the whole story. During his long explanation, no one had spoke; instead, all of the boys had been staring into space while Mariko had kept her eyes locked with Hikaru's figure.

"So that's what he did…" Mariko whispered to herself when Hikaru finished talking, and she looked down as thoughts rushed through her mind. "He really likes her…"

"Yeah, but Take is really insecure so when he heard Maki-chan say that she liked strong guys and disliked weak guys, he immediately thought he had to come up with a plan." Kosuke pointed out, and Mariko nodded before glancing at him.

"I understand that, but I must say I also understand why Maki is so mad," she responded, "I mean…to go that far… It's no wonder Maki is so angry at Takeda-kun…"

"Oi, we already know it wasn't fair, but Take's missing!" Hikaru exclaimed all of a sudden, and Mariko gazed at him, "That guy is really feeling bad about the whole thing. When Maki-chan told him that she didn't want to see him again, it was like a blow on the stomach. He's really sorry!"

"And that's why we were looking for him." Hayato proceeded, and Mariko turned to him, "We're not going to tell him what to do, but we want to support him nonetheless."

"Are you really going to tell Take not to see Maki again?" Kosuke inquired, a concerned mask on his face, "Because if you are, you'll most likely break his heart. He already knows he did wrong, so…"

"I won't." Mariko replied in a soft tone, and all the guys stared at her in surprise, "If you say Takeda-kun is sorry about what he did, then I believe you. And besides I don't really feel at easy telling him what she asked me to."

All of a sudden laughs and giggles reached Mariko's ears, and the girl gazed at the fountain located in the middle of the garden. Standing next to it, and staring right at her, were five girls of her High School, whispering and giggling.

"Hey, look at those girls…" Kosuke said all of a sudden, and Mariko turned to him. It was with no surprise that she noticed that he was staring at the girls from her school as well, "Do you think they want to come and talk to us?"

From where he stood, Ryu also gazed at the group of girls, and narrowed his eyes. By the way they were behaving it was a little obvious that they were not that interested in them. It was almost as if they were gossiping about something…

Silently, he gazed at Mariko, and saw that she was looking down while all the other guys talked about the group of girls. As he rested his hands inside his pants' pockets, Ryu took in the way the girl had tensed up in a matter of seconds.

Sighing, he made his way towards the bench.

"C'mon." he said, and Hayato turned to him, "It's getting late, and I doubt we'll find Take now. He's probably already at home. Tomorrow, we'll talk to him."

"You're probably right." Hayato responded before standing up, and then he turned to Mariko, "Say, do you want us to take you home?"

"No, that's all right." Mariko answered as she shook her head, the corner of her lips curling upwards into a small smile, "And thank you for telling me the whole story. I'm sure Maki will forgive Takeda-kun."

"Yeah, we hope she will…" Hikaru whispered as Kosuke nodded, and Mariko smiled widely at him before nodding.

"I'm sure she will," she reassured them, "Just like I'm sure Takeda-kun will be fine with such great friends."

* * *

Next morning, Hayato and the others could be found making their way towards the coffee-shop where Maki worked part-time. Even though they had yet to go to school, all of them had the feeling they would not find Keita there. Instead, they had decided to go, and try one last time to find their friend before going to school.

What they had not been expecting was to find their homeroom teacher also standing by the entrance of the coffee-shop.

"What are you doing?" Hayato asked as Kumiko stared through one of the shop's windows, and she quickly turned to her side. Her eyes widened as soon as she realized who was standing by the top of the stairs.

"Me? What are you guys doing here?"

"We thought Take might be here." Hikaru responded from behind Kosuke, and Kumiko found herself smiling at that confession.

"You guys are thinking about your friend…"

"Shut up." Ryu spoke up right when Kumiko was about to approach them, and he brushed past Hayato. "Let's look inside for now."

A few minutes after looking around inside the coffee-shop, the whole group was about to walk away when they heard three different voices talking about Keita and Okudera. Boys from the Sokei University were laughing upon the upcoming match between Okudera and Keita, which had lead Kumiko and her students to them.

An after sharing a few, quick words with the group from Kurogin, Kumiko and her students did not waste any time rushing out of the coffee-shop. They were in so much hurry to go find their friend that they did not even notice teacher Kujo Takuma, Maki and Mariko.

"Yamaguchi-sensei?" Takuma mumbled, but it was also then that Hikaru's voice was heard.

"This is bad. That guy's a really strong boxer."

"There's no chance against him in a match!" Kosuke agreed as they ran down the stairs, and followed their friends.

"Don't tell me…" Maki whispered, and Mariko was about to gaze at her when her friend started running after the boys. After sharing a quick look with her homeroom teacher, both Mariko and Takuma went after Maki as well.

When they arrived at the side of the river, Mariko, Maki, and Takuma saw Keita on the ground while Okudera was still standing strong. Not too far from them, also watching the fight, were Kumiko and her students.

"Why?" Maki finally blurted out as she watched as Keita continued to try and hit Okudera. "I told him never to approach me again."

"Why don't you understand?" Hayato asked back, and when Maki gazed at him, Ryu walked past Kumiko, and stared at the petite girl.

"He's doing it for you."

"For me?" Maki repeated, a look of disbelief on her face, and Kumiko nodded.

"Takeda is fighting for you." gazing at her student, the math teacher decided to continue, conscious of Maki's eyes on her. "He's trying to protect you."

"Take couldn't forgive him for deceiving you and wanted that guy to cue ties with you." Ryu explained as he also stared at his friend as he continued fighting for the girl that he liked. "That's why he took on this challenge."

"Deceiving me?" Maki repeated, and Hayato decided to continue speaking.

"He has other girlfriends besides you."

"Even though there's no way Take would win against that strong guy." Hikaru pointed out, and Kosuke sighed.

"This is about his limit."

As soon as those words left his lips, everyone saw as Okudera grabbed Keita by his jacket, and raised him from the ground. The student from Sokei University had been just about to punch Keita one last time, when Kumiko decided to step forward, and stop him.

And after her, went the rest of the group. However, while the boys from Kurogin went to Keita's side, Mariko, Maki and their teacher stood a few steps behind.

After gazing at Mariko, Maki stared directly at Keita, and increased her grip on the strap of her bag. Then, without even gazing at Okudera, who was still standing next to Kumiko and her students, she made her way towards the wounded student from Kurogin.

"Are you okay?" Maki asked as she bent down in front of Keita, and handed him her handkerchief. Painfully, Keita grabbed her handkerchief, and gazed down at it only to smile slightly at that simple gesture.

"Maki-chan…" he whispered, and the girl shifted closer to him.

"I'm sorry." she apologized, but Keita simply shook his head at that.

On the following day, after school, much for Keita's surprise, he got a call from Maki, asking him to meet her on the way to school. Albeit he had been a little puzzled by it (he still could not believe she had agreed to exchange phone numbers with him), he had decided to go.

And it was with undeniable surprise that Keita found himself reaching out for chocolate wrapped in a beautiful yet simple red paper. Still shocked, he stared at Maki, who was standing in front of him, looking a little shy.

"For me?"

"There's no deep meaning to this. It's just to thank you." Maki warned, but a wide smile still graced Keita's beaten face. Without being able to conceal his joy, Keita pressed the chocolate against his chest while yelling 'I did it!' for the whole world to hear.

What none of the students had notice were Kumiko and Takuma, hiding behind a tree. The math teacher, taking profit of the joyful atmosphere, gazed at the man behind her, and blushed faintly at him.

"Um…this..." Kumiko stuttered as she reached out for the chocolate she had carefully wrapped around golden paper, and handed it to Takuma, "Please take this, if you would."

"Ah, thank you." Takuma appreciated with a smile on his face as he accepted the gift, and Kumiko blushed even more at his antics. Her awkward faded soon, though, when she heard a loud cheering coming from behind her.

"We saw that! We saw that!" Hikaru exclaimed, and Kumiko widened her eyes in horror when she saw her whole class standing in the middle of the road.

"You did it!"

"You guys! Don't make fun of your teachers!"

As Kumiko started chasing after her students, both Ryu and Mariko managed to find a safe place next to a tree. Laughing when she spotted Maki running next to Keita, Mariko could not help but raise a hand to her lips. Next to her, Ryu was doing an awful job trying to keep a smirk away from his face.

"You guys are really refreshing…" Mariko commented before she could stop herself, and Ryu gazed sideways at her. "You're all so funny…"

"You do seem to enjoy calling us names…" Ryu stated, and Mariko gazed at him before chuckling.

"But they're all cute names, so don't worry about it," she responded, but when Ryu did not answer, she bit her lower lip. Nervously, she reached out for her school bag, and grabbed a small package.

Then, she uncertainly gazed at Ryu, and noticed that he was still watching as Kumiko chased his friends around.

"Err…" she muttered, and Ryu gazed at her again. Mariko felt blood rushing up to her cheeks when their eyes met, "I umm… I have something for you…"

Turning to her, with his hands resting inside his pants pockets, Ryu silently watched as Mariko took her hand from inside her bag. A small gift, wrapped in blue, was soon revealed to him, and he blinked when Mariko handed him what he believed to be chocolate.

"This is for you." she explained, and Ryu blinked once more before he gazed at her in the eye, "I don't really know if you like chocolate, but…well, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it to you."

"You're giving me chocolate?" Ryu repeated, and Mariko nodded as she looked down. Waiting for a moment, Ryu tilted his head to the side, "Honmei choco?"

"Giri choco!" Mariko immediately corrected him, her blood now feeling like lava as it rushed up to her whole face and ears. When she noticed the way she had spoken, the girl cleared her throat, and tried to calm down. "I mean…it's giri choco…"

"Oh…"

Mariko was just about to tell him to forget the whole thing when she felt Ryu's fingertips caressing hers. Raising her eyes just a bit, Mariko watched as Ryu wrapped his fingers around the chocolate, and she slowly let go of the gift.

"Thank you…" was all Ryu managed to blurt out afterwards, and Mariko nodded at that.

As the two of them stood still, with Ryu holding the chocolate while Mariko had her hands clasped tightly, the girl completely forgot about the other wrapped gift had in her school bag. A gift that her cousin, Sawada Shin, had requested for her to hand to Yamaguchi Kumiko…

* * *

**Note:** Giri chocolate – literally, "obligation chocolate" in Japanese. Giri choco is chocolate given by women to men on Valentine's Day. It is a relatively cheap type of chocolate women give to male co-workers, casual acquaintances, and others whom they have no strong attachment. Giri choco is lower quality than honmei choco.

Honmei chocolate – literally, "true feeling chocolate" in Japanese. Honmei choco is chocolate given by women on Valentine's Day to men whom the giver has romantic feelings for. This is often given to boyfriends, prospective boyfriends, and husbands. Honmei choco is higher-quality and more expensive than giri choco. Homemade honmei choco is also popular.

(Don't you just love _Wikipedia_?)

**To Be Continued…**


	6. The Faith of our Destiny

**Disclaimer: **_Gokusen _belongs to **Morimoto Kozueko**. Maresia Eterna only owns her own Original Characters and the plot.

* * *

Hello everyone! I finally managed to find a little bit of time to update this story. I do hope everyone enjoys this new chapter.

Also, I want to thank everyone for your constant support and help. Thank you for never giving up on me.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_The Faith of our Destiny_

Staring down at her students' attendance list, Kumiko could not help but sigh in tiredness. Honestly, she could not understand how they could be so carefree when their graduation was just around the corner. Most of them did not even know what they would do after school!

It also did not look as if they were that worried about their future, which was only used to aggravate Kumiko even more. She just did not know what to do anymore. Not even the interviews she had come up with had been much of a help. Instead, they had only proved her that her students were not serious about their future.

As she gazed at all the names of her students, Kumiko ended up looking at Hyuuga Kosuke's. He was one of the few who appeared to be sure of what he wanted to do in the future; in fact, he did seem rather indifferent about it.

"Yamaguchi-sensei, let's go for a drink today!" Shiratori Hitomi, Kurogin's English teacher, spoke up as she appeared next to Kumiko. "I need your advice, regarding love."

"Love?" Kumiko repeated, "Oh is it about the destined man you were talking about?"

"I wonder who he is…" Hitomi said in a dreamlike state before she turned to look at Kumiko. "Please, listen to me while we're drinking."

"Okay, but…" Kumiko looked away while Hitomi continued staring at her, "I'm embarrassed to say this, but I don't have that much experience in love to be able to give you any advice."

"Is that so? Then I'll ask Kujo-sensei for advice." Hitomi declared as she made her way towards her desk, and Kumiko immediately turned to her, wide-eyed.

"I'll go!" she exclaimed as she rushed after the other teacher, "If you're okay with my lack of experiences."

"Let me join you, too!" Baba said all of a sudden, as he stood in the middle of the staff room with his hands on his hips, and the two female teachers turned to him in confusion. "If it's advice about love, leave it to me."

It was needless to say that Kumiko's concern about her students had disappeared completely by then. And that probably explained why, hours later, Kumiko could be found at a restaurant in the company not only of Hitomi, but also of Takuma and Baba.

What Kumiko did not know was that while she was having fun, having dinner with her new love interest, and friends, Sawada Mariko was staring at a gift she had placed in a glass table. With a sigh, the girl rested her chin on her hand, her eyes never leaving the small gift bag in front of her.

She really could not understand how she had managed to forget all about it. She had not even called Shin to tell him she had forgotten to give Kumiko what he had sent. How could she do it without feeling downright ashamed?

"What to do? What to do?" Mariko mumbled to herself before she gazed down at her watch. Although it was not extremely late, she was not entirely sure if she should go to Kumiko's house. Shin had told her the address, but she still was not sure…

But it was not as if she could keep the present there for long. Three days had already flown by…

"Oh, whatever…" Mariko told herself before standing up from the sofa, and she carefully reached out for the present. Then, without thinking twice about what she was going to do, Mariko grabbed her bag, and left the apartment.

What Mariko had not been expecting was to find both Yabuki Hayato and Odagiri Ryu also in Kumiko's residence. And what Mariko had definitely not been expecting as well, was to find a passed out Tatsukawa Minoru lying on the floor by the entrance while both Sugawara Makoto and Wakamatsu Hiro were standing in front of Ryu and Hayato.

"We'll be leaving now." Mariko heard Ryu say as he stared a little apprehensively at both Sugawara and Wakamatsu, and she took a deep breath before walking through the front door.

"Please, pardon the intrusion…" Mariko said as she clasped her hands in front of her legs, and four pair of eyes looked at her. Minoru, on the other hand, continued snoring on the floor. "Good night."

"Mariko?" was all Hayato breathed out as he stared at her, and the girl bowed in respect. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, actually I—"

"Hey!" Wakamatsu called out all of a sudden, and the three young adults cringed at his tone of voice before turning to look at him. "It wouldn't be right to let you go. Please, come in."

Ryu and Hayato were about to say something when a new voice was heard from behind Mariko.

"I'm home!"

"Welcome back." both Sugawara and Wakamatsu greeted as they bowed in respect, and while both Ryu and Hayato stared at their homeroom in disbelief as she walked past them, Mariko looked down.

"Oh, you guys are here!" Kumiko exclaimed as she stared at her students at same time she took her shoes off, and a wide smile graced her features. "Don't be shy. Come on in!"

As soon as those words abandoned her lips, Kumiko spun around on her heels, her eyes widened in horror.

"Why are you here?"

Due to the initial shock, no one dared to say a word while Minoru continued snoring on the floor.

Minutes later, everyone, including Kuroda Ryuichiro, could be found in the sitting-room, around the table. When no one said anything, Hayato decided to shift closer to his homeroom teacher, without looking away from the men sitting across from him.

"You're supposed to be the beautiful Ojou?"

"Yes." Kumiko answered, her voice coming out above a whisper, a look of discomfort written all over her face and Tetsu took the opportunity to hit a now awakened Minoru on the head.

"You idiot; this is all your fault."

"I'm sorry." Minoru apologized with a short bow, and there was another long and extremely awkward silence. Kumiko, still rather nervous about the fact that her students had actually stumbled upon her secret, tried to come up with an excuse.

"I'm sure you're surprised seeing such thugs here." she started saying while twiddling her thumbs, and both Hayato and Ryu glanced at her while Mariko stared at the said thugs. "Even though they look like this, they're really interesting and good guys, right?"

"Yeah…" the four men chorused, as they tried to look friendly, but neither Hayato nor Ryu looked convinced. Instead, Ryu gazed at Ryuichiro, and swallowed hard.

"Excuse me…" he started, "What is the Oedo Family?"

There was another, even bigger, silence during which both Ryuichiro and Kumiko tried to come up with something, anything to say. At the end, after thinking at full speed, Kumiko was the one who spoke up.

"A theatrical company." she explained, and Mariko had to stop herself from shaking her head while all members of the Oedo house stared surprised at Kumiko, "A touring one, right?"

Everyone, except for Ryuichiro, agreed with her idea.

"The one at the end is the Oedo group's actor Sugawara." Kumiko started introducing each one of the men in front of her, "And this is the male actor who does female Kabuki roles, Wakamatsu. The one in charge of stage settings, Minoru! And finally the star actor, Tetsu!"

Clasping her hands in front of her chest, Kumiko turned to her grandfather.

"And the leader of the company…"

Ryuichiro, who had been looking away during his granddaughter's introduction, finally gazed at Kumiko when she trailed off. When he said nothing, and barely looked away again, Kumiko looked down, and laughed nervously.

"It's no use." she confessed, and Ryuichiro shook his head while he kept his arms folded against his chest.

"I can't watch this." he said, "How long are you planning to act like this? I'm sure the students already know."

"Really?" Kumiko asked as she gazed at her students, and Hayato took the cue to speak up while Ryu looked down. Mariko, on the other hand, simply looked away while biting her lower lip.

"You're really bad at acting."

"Why are you trying to hide it?" Ryu asked as he also turned to look at his teacher, and Mariko raised her head to gaze at Kumiko.

"Young people like you might not understand this…" Ryuichiro started as he turned to the three young adults in front of him, "But society is very picky."

"If they find out about my background…" Kumiko started after a short period in silence, and she unconsciously clasped her hands on top of her lap, "I'll be fired. So, I hid it for now. But now that you know, then I can't help it."

Silence was all that followed Kumiko's words, along with a strange sense of awkwardness. Both Hayato and Ryu gazed at the group of men in front of them while Mariko gazed down at her knees. Taking a deep breath, the girl raised her head, but before she could even part her lips to speak, Ryu's voice was heard.

"It's not really relevant." he declared before looking at Kumiko, who also gazed back at him. "We're not interested in a teacher's background."

"We're not going to expose you." Hayato decided to add when he saw Kumiko's expression, and Mariko licked her lips in nervousness before she also looked at the math teacher.

"I have to admit I've known about your family for a while now." she confessed, and Kumiko widened her eyes at that. "Shin told me about it. He said he wanted me to know about all of it because he was worried about what could happen if we ended up meeting up during…err…extenuating circumstances."

"Oh…."

"But I won't tell anyone!" Mariko exclaimed when she noticed that Kumiko was still slightly unsure about the whole thing. "In fact, Shin only told me about all this because he knew I'd never tell a soul. Please, trust me!"

A few seconds rolled by, and everyone noticed Kumiko's eyes tearing up. The corner of her lips had started curling upwards, but before someone could say a word, Kumiko spoke up.

"You guys…" she breathed, a relieved mask now on her face, and she suddenly stood up from her seat, and positioned herself behind her two students. Then, she started ruffling their hairs, "Really are my students!"

"You really are good people!" Minoru exclaimed from his spot while all the other men nodded at that. Tetsu was the only one to raise a hand, and smack Minoru on the back of his head.

"Remember, this is all your fault." he reminded his friend, who nodded.

"Please, take care of Kumiko." Ryuichiro requested as he bowed in direction of the three young adults, and every member of the Oedo family, including Kumiko, also bowed. Hayato, Ryu and Mariko were truly speechless about all that.

Quietly, Kumiko raised her head, and smiled at her students before gazing at Mariko. When their eyes met, however, Mariko widened her eyes in realization.

"Ah, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed before she reached out for the small bag she had placed next to her. "The reason why I came here! Kumiko-san, Shin sent this gift for you. I was supposed to give it to you on Valentine's Day, but…"

Trailing off, Mariko gazed sideways at Ryu, who looked back at her. Fighting back a blush, Mariko turned to Kumiko again, and extended the gift towards her.

"I apologize for the delay."

"For me?" Kumiko asked as she pointed at herself, and when Mariko nodded, she hesitantly reached out for the small bag. Unsurely, Kumiko glanced around, but when she noticed that everyone was just staring at her, she looked down at the gift.

Sawada Shin had bought a gift for her… Her former student had asked his cousin to give her the present he had chosen just for her…

For some reason, Shin's face emerged from the back of her mind, and Kumiko felt her heart flutter.

Licking her lips in anticipation, Kumiko glanced one last time at the crowd that was staring at her, and cleared her throat. Then, she reached out for the top of the bag, and slowly opened it only to blink when she saw a rectangle box inside.

Cautiously, Kumiko picked the box from inside, and carefully placed it on her lap at same time she put the bag aside. She felt no need to look around; she already knew everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to open the box.

Gulping, Kumiko rested her hands on the lid, and gently pulled it aside.

Her eyes widened in both horror and mortification when she saw a white babydoll in the middle of the box. On top of it was a small piece of white chocolate.

"AH!" Kumiko shouted as she covered the babydoll with her hands, and then she gazed at everyone around her. With exception of her grandfather, they were all staring at the box she was desperately trying to hide from sight. Quickly, and still with a shocked mask on her face, Kumiko turned to Mariko, who was visibly surprised as well.

It was only when the girl gazed at her in the eye that Kumiko yelled.

"I'm going to kill Sawada!"

* * *

"Thank you for bringing me home."

Ryu looked away from the bar that was two doors down the street, and gazed at the girl who had turned to him after opening the front door of the building. Resting his hands inside his pants' pockets, he bit the interior of his left cheek before shaking his head.

"Don't thank me."

A small smile graced Mariko's features at his reply, and the girl clasped her hands in front of her legs.

"Would you like some tea?" she inquired as she stepped aside, "It would be no trouble."

Ryu was half-tempted to decline when he gazed at Mariko's face. For a split of a second he just stared at the girl, a little unsure of what to do or say. Hayato was usually the one to get himself in such situations, but his friend had sneakily walked away as soon as they had left Kumiko's residence.

"If you don't want to…"

"It's fine." Ryu interrupted her before he could stop himself, and Mariko blinked at his abrupt response. As soon as his voice reached his ears, Ryu frowned as thoughts rushed through his mind at full speed. "But it will have to be quick."

"Yes, of course." Mariko quickly replied as she opened the door of the building, but Ryu still hesitated for a moment before he decided to go after her.

As they climbed up the stairs, Ryu found himself occasionally gazing at Mariko's back. He really was not good in those situations. Hayato was the one who knew how to deal with girls, just like Hikaru and Kosuke. Keita was far too inhibited.

"We're here." Mariko announced as she stopped in front of a door before unlocking it. After pushing the door ajar, the girl stepped backwards, and motioned for Ryu to walk inside first. The boy waited a few seconds before accepting her silent invitation, his hands still stuck inside his pants pockets.

"Would you like some green tea?" Mariko inquired as she made her way towards the sofa that was just across from the front door. Quickly, she put her bag down before she turned to Ryu, who was standing next to the closed door.

"Any tea is fine." Ryu answered, and Mariko nodded at that before she walked towards the kitchenette. Ryu, on the other hand, took the chance to gaze around; that was a small apartment, perfect for one person to live in; the bedroom, living-room and kitchenette were all in one room while there was a door close to the bed that probably led to the bathroom.

The colours of the apartment, however, did not seem to match Mariko's personality at all. Every wall was painted in black with exception of the one where the kitchen-cabinets were; that one had been painted in grey. Ryu guessed that Sawada Shin was responsible by such dark theme.

"You can sit down…" Mariko commented all of a sudden, and Ryu turned his head to gaze at her. She was currently waiting for the water to heat up; two cups had already been placed on the counter along with the tea.

Nodding, Ryu was about to move towards the black sofa when he decided against it. Instead, he made his way towards Mariko's side, and noticed that the water was finally beginning to boil. Gently, he reached out for the tea bags.

"Excuse me…" he whispered as he moved his arm in front of Mariko's torso in order to reach out for the small bags, and he vaguely noticed the way the girl tensed up at his actions. "I'm sorry."

"Ah, that's okay." Mariko answered as she reached out for a cloth before she turned the stove off. After smiling quickly at Ryu, the girl started pouring the water into the cups. A couple of minutes later, the two young adults made their way towards the sofa.

"May I ask you what's bothering you?" Mariko inquired after taking a small sip of her warm drink, and Ryu frowned at her question. Staring at her, he puckered his eyebrows in concentration, and Mariko smiled nervously at him. "It's just that…it looks like you're worried about something."

"It's nothing." Ryu responded as he continued to hold his cup with his right hand, and then he looked away. "I was just thinking about Yamaguchi and her family. I must admit I never expected for her to be the heir of a yakuza family."

"Oh, I know what you mean." Mariko declared as she smiled at his comment, "When Shin told me about it, I thought he was kidding. But then I remembered that my cousin doesn't exactly joke around so…"

"How long have you known about it?" Ryu inquired, and Mariko thought about it for a moment.

"Shin told me about it when he found out I was coming to Japan." she replied, "But I must admit Yamaguchi-sensei is nothing like the person I used to picture in my mind. When you look at her, she really looks like a normal teacher so…"

"Normal…" Ryu snorted before he raised his cup towards his lips, and silence settled down in the room as the two students continued enjoying their tea. A silence that was only broken when Mariko let out a sigh, causing Ryu to stare at her in confusion.

"Ah, sorry, I was just thinking about the first time we met." the girl explained, but Ryu simply continued staring at her. "I must admit that back then I never thought we'd meet again. Go figure how we actually ended up studying in schools that are just next to each other."

"Ah…"

Suddenly, a cell-phone started ringing, and Ryu reached out for his pocket. Quickly, he took his cell-phone, and opened it. Hastily, he read the text Hayato had just sent him before he decided to put his object inside his pocket again.

Apparently Kosuke had not answered his phone or replied to the texts his friends had sent him throughout the day.

"I'm sorry for asking this again, but…" Mariko paused for a moment, and Ryu gazed sideways at her, "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"…It's just Hyuuga." Ryu finally decided to confess as he looked away, "He started working, and we're a little worried. That's all."

"Oh…I hope it's nothing serious…" Mariko said, and Ryu simply shrugged in return before he raised his cup towards his lips. After taking various gulps, the boy stared down at his now empty cup before he decided to put it on the table again.

Then, Ryu stood up from the sofa, his hands resting on his legs.

"I have to go."

"Hmm, of course," Mariko said as she took a gulp of her own warm drink, and she quickly put it on the table as well before standing up. Smiling slightly, Mariko made her way towards the door, but when her hand reached the doorknob, she turned to Ryu. "Thank you for your company."

Ryu had been about to part his lips to reply when Mariko rested a hand on his upper-arm, and kissed him lightly on both cheeks. Widening his eyes in surprise, Ryu watched as Mariko gave on step backwards before she gazed at him.

It was only after looking at him for a few seconds that Mariko appeared to realize what she had done for her eyes quickly widened as well. Almost immediately, she raised a hand towards her lips.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" she apologized, still looking quite stunned by her own actions, but Ryu could not think of one single word to utter. "You see, in Portugal it's quite common to kiss people when you're greeting them or saying goodbye. I'm really sorry!"

"A-Ah…" was all Ryu managed to utter, his eyes still locked with Mariko's, and he vaguely noticed the blush that was covering her pale cheeks. "Excuse me…"

With that said, Ryu opened the door of the apartment, and walked away as fast as he could at same time he struggled to ignore the tingling sensation on his cheeks.

**To Be Continued…**


	7. The Steps InBetween

**Disclaimer: **Maresia Eterna only owns the Original Characters and the plot.

* * *

I want to thank everyone who has been reading The Red String of Fate. I do hope all of you continue to enjoy this story. Thank you for your attention!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_The Steps In-Between_

Why did it seem that every time she managed to help her students return to the right track, something else had to happen, and destroy everything? Yes, her current situation was not related with her students, but Kumiko could not help but find it tiring nonetheless. A week ago she had aided Kosuke in returning to school, and now she was facing the awful possibility of not finding any job.

Yes, because for some abnormal reason, Kumiko had actually forgotten about the fact she was only working at Kurogin temporarily.

Taking a deep breath, Kumiko finished changing into her jersey, and quickly made her way towards the staff room. She truly hoped something could make her forget about her current situation…

"Good morning." Kumiko greeted as she walked through the staffroom's door, and Baba immediately made his way towards her while holding a paper.

"Yamaguchi-sensei," he called out, and the math teacher stopped her tracks as she stared at him, "There was a call from Joyful Company."

"Eh?" was all Kumiko managed to blur out, and Baba handed her the paper with both his hands, causing the other teacher to look down at it.

"They're okay to go ahead with the student interviews."

"Really?" Kumiko asked as she stared at Baba, now holding the paper with both her hands, and a wide smile graced her features. Then, she turned her back to Baba, and raised a fist in front of her. "That's right. This is no time to worry about myself."

Moments later, Kumiko walked inside her classroom, a white smile still on her face. Her students were being loud as always, but she ignored it all as she made her way towards her own desk.

Finally, she had some good news!

"Tsuchiya, Omori, Kojima, Hamaguchi. Be happy." she said as she looked at the said students, "Joyful Company is willing to interview you guys for work."

It was pointless to say that as soon as those words escaped from her lips, all of her classroom started cheering. A wave of happiness erupted from the bottom of Kumiko's stomach as she watched everyone congratulating their classmates. However, such happiness did not last long for Kumiko had never imagined that when she had decided to help her students practice for the interview, she would end up being interviewed by her class as well.

"Well then, let's have your measurements." Kosuke said as he rested his chin on his hand, and Kumiko smiled at him.

"Well, starting at the top, 95-58-88." Kumiko promptly responded as she stared at the ceiling, a content look on her face. Most of her students stared surprised at her after hearing such reply.

"Why are you asking that question?" Kumiko asked after a few seconds, and Ryu glanced at her sideways.

"You shouldn't lie." he pointed out, and the math teacher turned to him before pouting.

"Yes."

"Well, do you have a boyfriend?"

While Kumiko answered Keita's question (without having any idea of what she was saying), Ryu took the chance to disconnect from reality. He already knew his friends were just teasing their teacher, thus making it unnecessary for him to pay any sort of attention to what was going on.

However, before he could even picture the reason why he wanted to get lost in his thoughts, Kumiko jumped off her chair, annoyed by her students' impertinence.

It had taken her long enough…

After school, the guys had decided to just hang around before going home. However, when Keita confessed that he would like to visit Maki before going with Hikaru to take the pictures he needed for his curriculum vitae the rest of the guys jumped at the opportunity.

Leaning against the side of the gate, Ryu watched as his friends observed every girl that walked past them. He truly could not help but feel embarrassed by his own gender whenever his friends did that, but he also knew it was pointless to tell them to change.

"Hey, look! There's Mariko-chan!" Keita exclaimed all of a sudden as he pointed towards the front doors of the school, but he dropped his arm almost immediately. "Oh and there's Maki-chan…"

Regardless of everything Keita said whenever Maki was mentioned, it was official: Takeda Keita had fallen for Mizushima Maki. And he had fallen hard.

"Oh, hello..." Maki greeted when she reached Keita's smile, but the small boy simply smiled shyly at her before he nodded in greeting.

"Hello…" he eventually said, nervously raising a hand in the air. "How…How are you?"

"I'm fine. Mariko and I were just talking about a new project we have to do." Maki responded as she gazed at her friend, who simply smiled in reply. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh Takeda here was just wondering if you'd like to go drink something with us." Hayato declared before Keita could part his lips to speak.

"He means the two of you." Hikaru promptly added, noticing the look on Maki's face. "Both of you are welcomed to join us. As a matter of fact, I can even pay for your share. You see, Yamaguchi just told me I have an interview tomorrow."

"An interview? Really?" Mariko asked, her smile widening even more, and Ryu glanced sideways at her. "But that's great! Where is it?"

"At Joyful Company," Hikaru answered as he opened his fan in front of his widening grin. "It's nothing certain, but it's definitely a start."

"Oh, you'll be great, you'll see!" Mariko reassured him, and Ryu looked away when Hikaru smiled widely at the girl as well.

"Hey, why don't you invite us out after your interview?" Maki asked all of a sudden, and everyone turned to her. "I mean, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but we really need to start working on our project. It's due in a week."

"Maki…"

"What? You know better than me how Kujo-sensei can be when it comes to homework." Maki protested, "For me, I'd go karaoke right now, but we can't, and you know it."

"Oi, oi, no need to start fighting because of this," Hayato stepped in right when Mariko was about to reply to her friend, and both girls turned to him. "Why don't we go out after you two finish your project? Tsuchi will most likely have his contract signed by then so we'll have even more reasons to party."

"He's right, and it will be even better when he has the contract." Kosuke continued his friend's observation, "We'll go karaoke, and we can even go play bowling and stuff."

"Now that's a good idea." Maki stated before Mariko could even come up with something to say. "Just let us know how everything went afterwards, okay?"

"Good luck." Mariko eventually added with a small smile. "And please, stay out of trouble."

"Who? Us?" Hayato asked as he pointed at himself, the corner of his lips curling upwards into a smirk. "You should know by now that we never look for troubles. If anything, troubles look for us not the other way around."

Mariko simply shook her head at that while Maki rolled her eyes.

A few hours later, as dinnertime approached, four of the students from Kurogin could be spotted standing close to a photo booth. People wandered around them, barely glancing at the small group.

"Alright, I have my picture!" Tsuchiya announced as he emerged from the photo book, and grabbed his photos, Hayato, Ryu, Keita and Kosuke watching him in silence. "And my resume is done, too!"

"Okay then, should we celebrate his upcoming interview?" Hayato asked with a smile, and both Keita and Kosuke cheered. Ryu, who was leaning against the photo booth, stared at his friend with a deadpan expression on his face.

"Nobody celebrates an interview." he observed, and Kosuke, patted him on the arm while shaking his head.

"Don't worry, there's nothing to be scared of." he teased, and Keita looked from him to Hayato, who was standing next to him.

"Then, let's go karaoke!"

"Okay, let's go!" Kosuke excitedly exclaimed, and while both Hayato and Tsuchiya nodded, Ryu watched his friends without much interest.

"Oh-oh," Tsuchiya mumbled to himself when he accidentally dropped his papers and pictures. Quickly, he bent down to grab them, but he found it impossible to do so because of the shoe that suddenly stepped on them.

Calmly, Tsuchiya looked up at the person who was stepping on his things, ready to excuse himself. However, he did not even blink when he noticed that instead of one person, he was staring directly at five guys wearing a white uniform.

"Aren't you from Kurogin?" the leader asked as he stared down at Tsuchiya with a smug look on his face. For a moment, Tsuchiya said nothing, and simply straightened up so that he could stare at the leader right in the eye.

"Tanade from Todoroki." he acknowledged right on the same moment the rest of his group finally noticed his absence. When they noticed what was going on, Hayato took a deep breath, and made his way towards Tsuchiya, the rest of his friends quickly following him in silence.

"You guys are gonna find work, too?" Tanade asked as he looked at the rest of the group when they reached Tsuchiya's side, and Kosuke took the chance to speak up.

"You gotta a problem with that?"

Instead of replying, Tanade glanced at Tsuchiya again before bending down to grab the fallen papers and pictures. When he straightened up, he started waving the papers in front of the students from Kurogin, an uninterested look on his face.

"Gonna work hard once you graduate?" he questioned still waving the papers around, and Keita narrowed his eyes slightly.

"It's none of your business."

"Working? Are you guys' stupid?" Tanade asked, and before someone could stop him, he ripped Tsuchiya's resume and pictures in half. Immediately, Hayato stepped forward, an irritated mask on his face.

"Why don't you stop it already?" he asked in a hushed tone before grabbing Tanade by the collar, and Ryu moved closer to his friend immediately, sensing that a fight was about to burst in that street.

"Stop it. Don't pay attention to this kind of guys." Ryu advised in his usual tone of voice, but his words were enough to enrage Tanade and the rest of his gang.

"_This_ kind of guys?" Tanade repeated, and he suddenly increased his tone of voice. "Now you've said it!"

"You guys looking down on us?" another member of the gang practically roared as he walked past Tanade, and grasped Hayato's collar. When he noticed the position he was in, Hayato smirked at the guy in front of him, and punched the guy straight on the cheek without even blinking.

"Hayato!" Ryu called out, but it was already too late. The dangerous tension that had been surrounding them finally burst, and the ten students quickly started throwing punches and kicks, hitting everything that crossed their path.

* * *

On the next day, when she heard that her students had once again gotten into a fight, Kumiko could not help but feel disappointed. However, all of her frustration vanished and was replaced by rant and rave when Head Teacher Sawatari told her

"Don't say sorry." Kumiko warned as she stood in front of her entire class, her hands resting on her hips. She was boiling, and she knew her students would not even dare to speak up until she cooled down.

And to think she had been excited about her students finding work! Kumiko had felt her world collapse when Head Teacher Sawatari had informed her that aside from the fact none of her students had made the interview, Tsuchiya was to blame for the fight they had gotten involved in during the previous night.

But the worse came when Kumiko heard Tsuchiya apologizing to her for what had happened.

"You ruined the interview we got after great trouble. Stop being so easy-going!" Kumiko practically roared, but when her students suddenly started blaming the other guys for the fight, she felt her rage tenfold. "You guys might be okay with that, but what about them?" she motioned to Tsuchiya and the others with her head, "Because of your stupid fight, they weren't able to go through with the interview! I'm not going to tell you not to fight, but there are times in life you have to act smart; time to exercise self-control!"

"Alright, alright. I couldn't control myself." Hayato finally confessed in a unemotional tone, and Kumiko had to control herself from bursting right then in pure fury.

"Don't show me that attitude!" she warned still in a controlled tone, but when she heard Omori, Kojima, and Hamaguchi comment that it had been better for them not to make the interview because they would most likely fail, Kumiko finally lost it.

"It's not okay!" she exclaimed in a very intolerant tone. "It's about your lives! How can you say you don't care? Think about your lives more seriously!"

For a moment there was silence, and Kumiko took a deep breath in an attempt to relax her heated muscles. Gradually, she turned around, and stared at all of her students, who were watching her.

"Up until now, your parents covered for you guys, no matter what you did." she started more lightly, "But it's going to be different from now on."

"Clean up your own mess, right?" Ryu finally asked also in a composed tone as he looked at Kumiko from his seat, and the teacher sighed before staring back at him.

"Not just that." she started, "Take responsibility for your actions; easier said than done. But you guys still don't understand its importance. Your thoughtless actions might involve others and even hurt them. There might be things that cannot be undone. Keep that in mind."

And it was then that the Superintendent, the Head Teacher and Inuzuka Taichi stepped inside, without any warning.

And it was also then that the Superintendent announced that there was no more need for her students to look for jobs in order to save the school's reputation, and this way shattering every single student's dreams.

* * *

"What's wrong?"

Ryu looked up from his ramen at the question, and took in the concerned mask on Mariko's face. He really did not know why he had made his way towards Kumai's Ramen Bar, and neither did he know why he had accepted to sit down with Mariko when he found the girl there, eating all by herself.

"…Nothing."

"Do you really expect me to believe in that?" Mariko asked immediately, almost as if she had been waiting for that answer. For a moment, Ryu just toyed with his dinner with his chopsticks before he decided to gaze at the girl again.

"It's just…something that happened at school." he decided to add as he put his chopsticks down before leaning against the back of his chair. "We did something stupid, and now we have to learn how to deal with the consequences."

"Oh…did troubles find you?" Mariko inquired as she recalled what Hayato had told her during their last meeting, and Ryu stared at her for a few seconds before nodding. "You know, my cousin once told me that 'for you can do whatever you want, but remember, it is also you who has to face the consequences of what you have done'."

"Yeah, I know." Ryu said as he nodded, and he unconsciously reached out for his chopsticks, even though he did not raise them from the bowl. "We all do. We just…don't know what to do next. The Chairman from the school told us that we didn't have to look for work, because that could stain the school's reputation."

"And you're actually paying attention to that?" Mariko asked as she raised an eyebrow, and Ryu blinked at that. "I understand that you're all feeling bad towards…whatever that happened, but I never thought you guys would give up just because you don't know how to overcome a certain challenge."

"I never said anything about giving up."

"No, but you never said anything about trying again, did you?" Mariko asked before she smiled faintly at him. Then, before one of them knew what was happening, Mariko put her chopsticks down, and reached out for Ryu's hand. "And for what I've seen, you guys never give up. Also, I think Yamaguchi-sensei would kick your butt if she knew that you are behaving like this."

"Kick my butt?" Ryu asked, not really sure how he was supposed to act towards that observation, and Mariko chuckled.

"I was just trying to enlighten the mood." she quickly explained, "Bottom line; what matters is that you guys are going to try your best to fix everything, right?"

A moment of silence followed Mariko's question, and Ryu found himself staring at the girl's hand, which was still resting over his. A few more seconds rolled by as he simply continued observing their fingers before Ryu took a deep breath, and looked at Mariko in the eye.

She was right. Kumiko would never forgive them if they decided to just let things stay as they were. Instead, Ryu knew it was time to meet up with his friends, and decide what would be better to do. It was time to finally do something proper, after the whole mess they created.

"Yes." Ryu heard himself say before he could stop himself, and Mariko smiled brightly at that. What none of them noticed was the way Kumai was observing them, from behind the counter, with a small smile on his face.

**To Be Continued…**


	8. One Step Closer to Us

**Disclaimer: **_Gokusen _belongs to **Morimoto Kozueko**. Maresia Eterna only owns her own Original Characters and the plot.

* * *

Hello everyone! I have finally returned with a new chapter! I hope all of you enjoy it. Tings are finally moving forward, and I can't wait to write the next chapter.

I hope everyone enjoys this!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

_One Step Closer to Us_

"We'll pay you back."

That had been the first thing Kumiko heard her students say, right before the beginning of class. She had been half expecting to see them giving up entirely, in spite of the fact she had been trying so hard to find them jobs. She would have never blame them for being depressed, but the fact they were all looking so determined astounded her.

"Pay back?" Kumiko finally forced herself to repeat as she continued staring at Hayato, but this time it was Ryu who spoke up.

"He means we'll graduate." the boy explained, and Kumiko could not help but feel a wave of relief fall on her shoulders at those words. They were truly serious about the whole situation.

"All of us together." Tsuchiya finished Ryu's statement with a smile, and Kumiko looked away from Ryu to glance at the tallest boy. A smile was about to enlighten her facial features when Kosuke decided to say something as well.

"We don't want it to go the way the superintendent wants it. Just watch us."

"You guys…" Kumiko breathed out, the corner of her lips beginning to curl upwards, but she trailed off when Hayato took a deep breath.

"We definitely won't fight until we graduate." he reassured with a nod, and Ryu supported his friend by adding a faint_ we promise_. Then, as silence followed that oath, Kumiko stared at her five students, and beamed when she noticed that they were all trying to hide their embarrassed smiles.

She honestly did not know what had caused them to change their minds, but she was glad they had. Now all they had to do was to work together as a team, like they always had.

When her class with 3-D ended, Kumiko returned to the staffroom, humming as she went. Without paying attention to the confused stares her co-workers sent in her direction, Kumiko made her way towards her seat. A pile of books had been placed on the left side of the desk by the math teacher herself.

She guessed that since she still had some time before going home, she could search for a few more jobs for her students.

Smiling at her decision, Kumiko pushed her chair back, and sat down. She had been just about to reach out for the first book of the pile when her phone started working.

"Hello, this is Yamaguchi Kumiko." the teacher greeted as she pressed the phone against her ear, the smile still on her face. For a moment, no one said anything, and Kumiko was about to part her lips to speak when a voice erupted from the other side of the line.

Kumiko felt her heart skip a beat when her nickname, _Yankumi_, was whispered by a male voice.

"Who is this?" Kumiko asked, her content expression quickly being replaced by an apprehensive one, and she increased her grip on the phone. "Tell me your name at once!"

The affectionate and deep laughter that echoed from the other side of the line was enough to cause a shiver to run up Kumiko's spine. For some reason, Kumiko could not help but think that she knew that laughter, but regardless of how hard she tried to recall who had such laughter, no name popped in her mind.

"_Still vivid as always, I see…"_

"Who is this?" Kumiko repeated as she struggled to ignore the tenseness that was rising from the pit of her stomach. The voice was oddly familiar, but it was irritating her that she simply could not pinpoint who the person on the other side of the line was. "I will hang up."

"_And to think you said you'd always remember us."_

Kumiko was just about to part yell on the phone, when the male voice was heard again. When the person finally introduced himself, Kumiko could not help but feel her heart skip a beat while her insides twisted in both agony and bewilderment.

Widening her eyes in shock as she stared at the wall ahead of her, Kumiko forced her lungs to take a deep breath. Then, she gradually stood up from her chair, the same flabbergasted look on her face.

"Sawada…Shin…"

Long minutes later, Kumiko could be spotted making her way home in a rather automatic way. A gobsmacked expression was written all over her face, her eyes unconfused as she walked through a rather empty street. All of her thoughts were concentrated on the conversation she had had over the phone with one of her first students; Sawada Shin.

Apparently, he was back in Japan, and he would soon meet her. How and when, Kumiko did not know, and she guessed that was exactly why she was feeling so anxious about the whole situation. She remembered Sawada Shin extremely well; she recalled his personality with no difficulty, and that was exactly why she was panicking.

When Kumiko reached her house's entrance, the woman stopped, and took a very deep breath. She needed to regain control of herself. She really ought to stop thinking about her former student. Instead, she needed to start thinking about her current students, and about the promise they had made.

"I'm home!" Kumiko announced in a high tone as she walked through the front door, and Wakamatsu Kouzou, Asakura Tetsu, and Tatsukawa Minoru rushed to welcome her. Smiling at their behaviour, Kumiko could not help but cheerfully greet them, "Hello everyone!"

"Hello _ojou_!" the three men welcomed with respectful bows, and Kumiko continued smiling at them as she stepped inside her house.

"Hum, excuse me, _ojou_…" Tetsu called out a little hesitantly, and Kumiko twirled around to face him. Nodding, the man continued. "You have a visitor. She's in the living-room. I believe your grandfather is with her."

"Oh? Well, I guess I should go then." Kumiko observed before turning around on her heels, and silently make her way towards the living-room. On the way, she decided to put her bag close to her parents' shrine before she finally approached the living-room.

"Thank you so much for watching over my granddaughter." Kumiko heard her grandfather say in his amiable voice, and for a split of a second she wondered about who her visitor could be.

"Oh no, I think it's the other way around." a female voice replied to Ryuichiro, and Kumiko raised an eyebrow before she finally walked through the open doors of the living-room. When her eyes fell upon her visitor, she smiled rather widely.

"Mariko-chan!" she exclaimed, completely forgetting her manners, and she immediately sat down next to the girl, on her knees. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, hello, Yamaguchi-sensei…" Mariko greeted with a bow, but Kumiko simply continued smiling at her. "I apologize for showing up without warning you first, but I needed to talk to you."

"Well, I do believe it's time for me to go." Ryuichiro said as he elegantly stood up from his seat before smiling at the two girls in front of him. "If you'll excuse me…"

"Thank you for everything, Kuroda-san." Mariko thanked with a long bow, but the old man simply laughed wholeheartedly at her before walking away. When they were finally alone, Kumiko turned to the girl next to her.

"So? What brings you here?" she asked, and Mariko turned to her before nodding.

"Well, it's just that…I'm not entirely sure if you have heard about this, but…my cousin is coming back to Japan." Mariko started, and Kumiko felt her insides twist at that observation. Without knowing what to say, the math teacher decided to nod.

"Yes, he…actually called me while I was still at school." Kumiko decided to add, and this time it was Mariko's turn to nod in understanding.

"Well, the thing is… I know Shin isn't exactly interested in this sort of thing, but…I was thinking about offering him a dinner." Mariko tried to explain. "I know he's not into welcoming parties, so I was thinking that…well, a dinner just among friends would be good."

"Oh, but that's a very good idea!" Kumiko exclaimed, all of her nervousness evaporating from her muscles almost immediately. "Who are you thinking about inviting? And where do you want the dinner to take place? I'm just asking because we could have it here!"

"Oh, I was thinking about Kumai-san's restaurant." Mariko confessed a little shyly, "Shin has always loved that place, and when I told Kumai-san about my idea, he offered his place straight away so…if you don't mind…"

"No, of course I don't mind!" Kumiko said as she waved a hand in front of her face, "And what about the people you are going to invite? Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Well, there would be Kumai-san, Shin, Yamaguchi-sensei, and Uchi-kun."

"Uchi-kun?" Kumiko repeated, a little surprised, "Do you mean Uchiyama Haruhiko?"

"Yes, I have been talking to Uchi-kun ever since I came to Japan, and I'm sure Shin would love to see him again." Mariko explained, and Kumiko was about to say something when her cell-phone started ringing.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kumiko rushed to say as she took her cell-phone from inside her pants pocket, and she quickly pressed it against her ear.

Little did Kumiko know that, seconds after that call, she would rush out of her house because her students were in danger…

* * *

"Shiratori-sensei!" Kumiko shouted as she rushed inside the warehouse, and saw Shiratori Hitomi hiding behind a pillar while holding her cell-phone against her chest.

"Yamaguchi-sensei! Over there!" Hitomi exclaimed as she pointed at what was going on close to their position, and both Kumiko and Mariko looked in the same direction. Immediately Mariko raised a hand to her lips while Kumiko felt her breath get stuck in her throat at the sight of her students being beaten up. "They won't fight back at all!"

"Heh?" Kumiko gasped in surprise as she glanced at Hitomi, who promptly nodded.

"They didn't try to hit them back even once." the English teacher hastily added, and Kumiko focused her attention on her students again, this time recalling the promise they had made.

"They can't…" she whispered still watching the feral scene continue in front of her.

_We definitely won't fight until we graduate._

_We promise._

As she watched her students fall on the floor, the other guys observing their actions with perplexity, Kumiko closed her right hand into a tight fist. Her students were keeping their promise, and that meant it was time for her to keep hers as well. And so, without uttering one single world, Kumiko stepped forward, and revealed herself to everyone.

"Don't touch my precious students!" Kumiko shouted in order to have all of the attention, and the students from the other high school looked over their shoulders. "You've done enough."

"Who're you?" Tanade asked as he turned to Kumiko, and started advancing towards her. The teacher, instead of running away as the student probably expected, raised her chin even higher as she prepared to answer.

"Me? I'm their homeroom teacher."

From her spot, Mariko watched Kumiko freeing her hair before taking her glasses off, throwing them away as she continued staring at Tanade. The teacher's words were still echoing throughout the warehouse, and for a moment she recalled what Shin had once told her. Kumiko was someone no sane person should mess with whenever she became angry.

Without being able to help Kumiko, Mariko was forced to watch the math teacher exchange a few words with Tanade. A gasp left her lips, however, when Tanade suddenly raised a fist, and hit the teacher square on the cheek. Nevertheless, Kumiko did not move an inch, and Mariko understood that she was alright despite of the punch.

Accordingly to Shin, she was always alright when it came to fighting.

"Why aren't you running?" Tanade asked puzzled by the teacher's actions, his eyes never leaving Kumiko's, who refused to answer. "Fight back!"

"You won't understand why they aren't fighting back." Kumiko started in a calm tone before stepping forward, and consequently Tanade stepped backwards. "They weren't holding back just to entertain you. They've endured so much. I can't just waste their efforts. Hit me all you want. But make sure you know what you're doing, because I'm prepared for the worst!"

It was curious how the significant silence that followed Kumiko's speech resembled to a triumphant melody. Even from afar, Mariko watched as Tanade fell on the ground due to the strength behind Kumiko's words before telling his friends that it was time to retreat.

While students from Todoroki left the warehouse, Mariko and Hitomi continued standing on the same spot, watching as Kumiko spoke to her students. First, Kumiko called them stupid, but even Mariko knew she had only done it because she was surprised by her students' actions. Anyone who would feel both stunned and touched by the students' actions…

"We promised you..." Ryu whispered as he continued leaning against the wall, like the rest of his friends.

"We're going to graduate…" Kosuke groaned from his spot, and Mariko felt her heart skipping a beat at those words. Their connection…their friendship was so strong, so special that it was impossible to explain it through words.

"…Together with everyone…" Keita finished as he tried to straighten up, but he ended up wincing due to his wounds, and Kumiko dropped her head as she tried to conceal her tears.

"You guys are…" Kumiko mumbled as she looked down for a moment, "You guys are…" she raised her eyes to glance at the five wounded boys in front of her at same time she struggled not to shed a few tears. "You guys are students I can be proud of."

From their spot, both Mariko and Hitomi watched Kumiko ruffling her students' hairs despite of their physical condition. However, while Mariko was smiling at the scene, Hitomi was watching the interaction with a saddened expression on her face which eventually was defeated by a small smile.

"Alright, let's go!" Kumiko exclaimed as she threw a punch into the air before going to Hitomi's side, and rest a hand on the other teacher's arm. "C'mon, get up!"

"Oi, don't push it, we're wounded." the boys chorused as they struggled to stand up, but Kumiko ignored them and continued walking towards the front door of the warehouse. Mariko, on the other hand, continued standing on the same spot, watching the math teacher's back.

Shin was right; Yamaguchi Kumiko was indeed one of a kind.

"C'mon guys, move!" Kumiko shouted when she reached the door, and Mariko felt her lips curling into a smile when the boys started complaining about being too injured to even walk straight.

Turning to the boys, Mariko watched as Tsuchiya was struggling to help Kosuke walking. Hayato was being supported by Ryu while Keita was trying to stand on his own. With a small shake of her head, Mariko went to Keita's side, and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Let me help you." was all she said at the boy, who smiled weakly before mumbling a thank you. Smiling back at him, Mariko gazed at the rest of the boys. "Please, come to my place. I can fix all of your wounds there."

"There's…no need…for that…" Hayato groaned as he limped, and Mariko had to stop herself from rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"Do you want to scare your parents by returning home looking like that?" she asked back, not really expecting an answer, but Tsuchiya still replied.

"She's right. My mum would kill me if she saw me like this. She's not really happy about me losing the interview, so I really don't want to upset her even more."

"That settles it then." Mariko declared. "As soon as we get there, I'm calling Maki too."

"E-Eh?" was Keita's bright question, and Mariko turned to him before nodding.

"There are five of you. I'll need all help I can get to fix all of you so, yes, I'm calling Maki as soon as we get home." she explained only to find herself struggling not to giggle when Keita groaned in response.

* * *

"I've always known that Kurogin boys only look for trouble, but this is ridiculous." Maki hissed as she continued cleaning Keita's cheek, not really bothering to be gentle while doing so. She also appeared to be blind to the boy's constant wincing and groaning.

"Maki…" Mariko started, not really sure of what to say in order to stop her friend from being so vicious about showing her resentment. "Please, we're trying to help these guys…"

"I don't care. Who asked them to be this…this idiotic?" Maki asked back, not really caring about the boys' feelings. Keita, who had been suffering in silence, finally raised a hand, and reached out for Maki's wrist.

"We're really sorry…" he mumbled, and Maki almost fulminated him with her glare.

"Being sorry doesn't fix anything. I mean, look at you!" she exclaimed, annoyed. "You're eighteen, for crying out loud!"

"Maki-chan…" Keita continued, as he tried not to wince when the girl started cleaning his face again. "I'm sorry… For worrying you…"

"Who said you worried me?" Maki asked as she pressed the cotton harder against the boy's cheek, causing him to let out a yelp in pain.

"Maki!" Mariko started saying, but it was then that she felt a hand on her arm, and she turned to the boy she was taking care of. Ryu, who had been silent during the whole time, looked at her in the eye before shaking his head. Hayato, who was sitting next to the boy, raised a finger to his lips.

Tsuchiya and Kosuke, who were sitting on the floor, kept quiet.

Well, Mariko guessed that Maki was angry simply because she truly was worried about Takeda Keita.

"And you!" Maki said all of a sudden as she turned to Ryu, who looked at her, taken back by the fact that she was actually talking to him. "You have some nerve! And to think Mariko worked really hard on the chocolate!"

"What?" Ryu mumbled, and Mariko widened her eyes in horror before she shook her head.

"Maki, shut up." she said, but her friend was still so furious that she did not hear her.

"Oh, please, as if you don't know!" she said, "Coming here to take advantage of her goodwill when you didn't even answer her. Seriously…"

"Oi, what are you talking about?" Hayato decided to step in as he raised an eyebrow in confusion, and Maki rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"What do you think I'm talking about?" she asked back, behaving as if the answer was obvious. "About Mariko's honmei chocolate, that's what."

"Eh?" was all Ryu managed to utter while Mariko smacked herself on the forehead with her hand. One word was all that echoed through her mind.

_Crap._

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
